To begin again
by LittleWolf95
Summary: Sunset Shimmer's life was turned upside down in an instant, leaving her not only to battle her inner demons but to also try to make amends but it isn't easy to forgive or forget when someone has hurt you and it seems only a few at Canterlot High are willing to even try to see the good in her. Will the few friends she has be enough to stop her from doing something rash?
1. Chapter 1

She remembered the negativity that filled her thoughts as soon as the crown touched her as if it was reminding her of all the mistakes that she had made in her life. The memories replayed in her mind like a movie she couldn't turn off as an icy hot feeling engulfed her whole body.

She wished it was just a dream, but it wasn't and she had to live with the outcome, especially the biting pain she felt in her back and the dull ache in every muscle in her body. Not to mention facing the school itself _but_ _ **that**_ could wait until Monday. At least, where the rest of the student body was concerned.

Right now she had a wall to at least help repair the front wall, which was what she had been doing just minutes prior but the pain in her back had become too much. She just hoped her break didn't tick off someone, Luna in particular.

"You know you wouldn't sweat so much if you took off your jacket."

Sunset nearly fell off the stack of bricks she was sitting on, although to her surprise the tall, dark-skinned woman handed her a bag from a local deli.

"I was wondering when you'd take a break. You have been working since nine o'clock this morning but the construction crew will do the majority of the work on Monday." the woman stated, not giving the girl time to respond before she walked back toward the school and leaving Sunset sitting there with her thoughts.

She knew this was being written off as a gas line explosion but she also knew that most if not all of the students of Canterlot High knew the truth, knew about the raging demon that had threatened to not only use them as her personal army but nearly killed six others.

The thought alone made her stomach churn and she was glad that the outcome had left physical reminders behind because she deserved it. She deserved the sleepless nights, that if the previous night had indicated would be a common thing and she deserved the hatred and pain she felt as she stood alone, her own so-called friends glaring over at her with disgust written on their faces.

"What do you plan to do about the little brat?"

Luna asked, leaning against the wall inside her sister's office as she tried to get the image of the girl out of her mind's eye. She didn't want to forgive the girl, not after what had happened over the course of three years but seeing anyone look so lost tugged at her heart a little.

"What do you suggest? We can't possibly get the authorities involved." Celestia responded, arching a brow as she looked up from her computer. Luna glared back before letting out a breath and moved to the window, looking out to only see the girl in question still seated, face buried in her hands.

"Since we can't possibly explain how one kid caused that much damage and no one would believe the truth, I suggest we make her work off the expense the school board is going to be out of repairing that field and wall. Besides, I think we need to figure out the full story. Don't even pretend you didn't notice a girl walking through a statue last night."

Celestia sighed and nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose before speaking "I took a look at her paperwork. Her home address is in those rundown apartments owned by Filthy Rich so I decided to make a few phone calls and everyone says they never see anyone other than Sunset coming or going from her place."

Luna turned her attention back toward her sister then, eyes narrowing.

"So the contact information she put on her enrollment forms was fake?" she asked, earning a negative shake of the head in response.

"Not exactly. Take a look at this." Celestia responded, motioning to the laptop in front of her and moving to the side so Luna could see the screen easily.

"Sunspot and Solar Wind...as well as their daughter...was killed in a car crash five years ago." she pointed out, causing Luna's eyes to widen as she read the article.

"Okay, that is just creepy." the younger woman commented, earning a sigh from Celestia who clicked on another tab, pulling up a post on Crystal Prep's school website, one that showed a photo of a girl who looked almost exactly like the girl they had watched pull Sunset out of the crater the previous night.

"What the hell is going on?"

Luna felt as if she was going crazy, or seeing double. Both the girl who had vanished through the statue and Sunset Shimmer looked nearly identical to the girls in the pictures on the screen. One being supposedly deceased.

"You need to ask Sunset that. She barely can manage to meet my gaze it seems and you can forget about holding a conversation."

Celestia answered with a sigh, only to feel her sister's hand squeeze her shoulder gently.

"Celestia you focus on trying to figure out what we're going to do about this mess. I'll try to get Sunset to talk."

"You have to eat. No one wants you to pass out while working." Luna's voice said from right beside of her, causing the sixteen-year-old to nearly jump out of her skin.

 _How can someone move that quietly? She's like a freaking cat!_ Sunset thought as she saw the rather amused look on Luna's face. _Correction, she's like that creepy cat in that children's movie Flash's little cousin made us watch with her._

"Sorry, I guess I'm just not very hungry." Sunset responded earning a light glare in response.

"Sunset Shimmer, no matter how badly you are feeling or how bad things seem you shouldn't just starve yourself." Luna stated, causing Sunset to flinch as if she had been struck.

"Yes, Ma'am."

Luna sighed, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. She knew that most students feared her to some extent but seeing Sunset's reaction bothered her for some reason. She didn't know why she felt compelled to try to comfort the former troublemaker but seeing her like this almost made her want to give the girl a chance– _almost_.

"Miss. Shimmer, Things may seem horrible currently but things will eventually get better after all nothing lasts forever, not even hard times." she said, noticing how Sunset's expression changed from neutral to sour to broken in a matter of seconds.

"No one is just going to forget what I did! I...was a monster."

Putting her face into her hands again Sunset tried to hold back her tears, only feeling the hand leave her shoulder.

 _No one will ever forgive me. No one will ever believe I want to change._

Suddenly she felt someone moving her hands away from her face, causing her to look up. Luna, who seemed to always be neutral or even aloof was kneeling down in front of her, her expression stern although her eyes were soft.

"You're right, you did terrible things and people won't forget however forgiveness can be earned, even if people can't forget." the woman responded and Sunset found it impossible to keep her tears at bay then.

"But I almost….I could have killed someone! I never meant to...go that far!"

She sobbed, wrapping her arms around herself as if to keep herself from physically falling apart. Luna sat there numb for a few minutes, unsure of what to do. One part of her wanted to remain formal while the other remembered another person long ago who had felt the same way.

"Sunset Shimmer," she spoke with authority despite the fact that she put her hands on the fiery-haired teen's shoulders "you need to prove you never wanted that. Prove to everyone that you are more than that self-centered brat that ruled the school or the demon that ruined the dance."

Luna knew she was being harsh but she didn't pull any punches, despite how hard the truth was to swallow. She gave Sunset a few minutes to absorb what she had said before she added, her voice softening some

"Celestia and I both believe you have it in you. It won't be easy but you can do it."

Luna didn't expect the teen to suddenly hug her, crying on her shoulder. This probably broke some rule, written or otherwise and it definitely wasn't something Luna used to but she didn't push her away.

 _If Celestia is right then this girl has probably been alone for years._

She thought as she wrapped an arm around the girls lower back, feeling her stiffen before relaxing once again.

 _I guess trying things Celestia's way won't hurt anything once in a while._


	2. Chapter 2

**Author note: thanks for the favorite and the review (it says I have one review but it says no reviews found when I click on it) but either way, glad someone likes the story enough to follow\fav it.**

 **Disclaimer: everything belongs to Hasbro. I'm just playing with the characters.**

"So you have been living on your own since you came here?" Celestia asked, causing Sunset to wince slightly since she was sitting beside of the aurora haired woman.

"Yeah, I had the money and I was underhanded enough to figure out how to use the computers at the public library to find someone who could make it seem like I belonged in this world. plus it helped that gold and gems cost a fortune here so I never was without food."

Sunset explained though she wouldn't admit that she did have trouble finding a place to stay until she stumbled across Filthy Rich who was more than willing to let her rent and overlook the fact she had no caretakers, as long as she kept the rent paid. She didn't want to give them any more reason to call child services.

"That's not the did you do when you weren't in school?" Luna commented, leaning against the desk with her arms folded across her chest.

"I…" Sunset began but got lost in thought "Well...I played guitar and video games." she answered, earning a surprised look from Luna.

"You actually let Flash teach you how to play guitar?" the dark-haired woman asked, watching as the teen blushed and nodded.

"I Wasn't _that_ bad all the time," Sunset muttered, earning a scoff from the vice principal

"Can't prove that by me. You were always an egomaniac with a bad temper."

Celestia glared at her sister as the girl shrunk down a bit in the seat, though Luna only smirked.

"But I suppose Flash had to see something in you that others didn't. He isn't one to play with people's emotions," she added, trying to take the sting out of her words.

"No, you're right. My ego is... _was_ huge. Ever since I actually _**won**_ something I let it go to my head and then I…" Sunset began though she trailed off as she choked back emotion once again as her conscience formed the words _just like you did when you were Princess Celestia's student._

"Yes, you did. But that is the past, you just have to make sure you don't go back down the same path." Luna responded, rolling her eyes at the look her sister was sending her. it wasn't like she was trying to make the teen cry on purpose!

"How? Seems like every time I get something right I fuck it up."

"Yes well...That's because you need to find a better angle to go at it. Trying to rule a whole army of teenagers or being a jerk isn't the best ways to go about anything," Luna began, pausing to figure out how exactly to word the next part "Start small. Try to help out when you can. Show people you have changed and slowly they will begin to trust you have."

Sunset was beyond relieved when she was released to go back to work. She didn't know what she should feel at that moment, her mind was a whirl of thoughts. She knew that she should be happy about not getting stuck in foster care but another part of her was even more terrified of the solution that had been presented to her.

 _What if I blow it? What if I keep on fucking things up?_

She wondered as she set about laying another layer of brick, the repetitive motion giving her something to focus on besides the emptiness that her thoughts had conjured up.

Smear, place, smear, place. The pattern went, making her think that maybe in another life she could have been a carpenter or something though she pushed that thought out if her mind as soon as it had entered.

She was so preoccupied that she didn't notice that the varsity soccer teams began to gather not too far from where she was working.

"Whats the demon bitch doing here?"

Sunset overheard one guy in the senior class sneer, causing a mumble of voices to join in however to her surprise a familiar voice cut in, commanding and loud

"She's cleaning up the mess she made last night. Like you had to do earlier this year when the senior prank flooded the basement!"

 _Wait...Is Rainbow Dash actually…._

"Oh shut up Rainbow Crash. Why are you so defensive about her? You of all people know what she did!" the boy, whose name Sunset seemed to remember being Silver something or another snapped.

"Yeah? So what? She's not bothering anyone now, is she? No! So stop calling her names!"

"Oh shut up. We have practice to get to, who cares about Sunset when we are going up against Crystal Prep in three days!" another male voice, Soarin stated successfully changing the subject.

 _Rainbow Dash actually….was standing up for me? But why? I was horrible to everyone and I broke up her group of friends._

She wondered, feeling the familiar sting pressing at the backs of her eyes as she thought about it but she shook it off. If the repair crews would be here to complete repairs Monday then sunset should at least have the foundation of the front wall built back before then.


	3. Chapter 3

Monday came all too quickly for Sunset, who found it hard to muster up enough courage to just enter the building.

"What's she doing here?"

"She should be locked up somewhere!"

"Hey Demon Bitch! Why are you even bothering? No one wants you here!"

Sunset tried to ignore the voices of the other students as she walked down the hall. She could feel the tears threatening at the corner of her eyes though she knew she deserved this, this was just karma coming back and biting her for being just such a jerk.

"Watch out! She might attack again!"

She would have given anything for her magic then because if she had been able she would have teleported herself out of the range of their comments.

"Begone Demon!"

She hadn't even noticed Trixie had stepped in front of her until something powdery was tossed into her face, burning her eyes and causing her to step backward and right into someone. She felt a hand grab her arm and braced herself for the inevitable blow, though suddenly she heard a commanding voice snap

"You damn idiot! Are you trying to blind someone? Rainbow, Go get the nurse and one of the principals."

Sunset was trying hard not to cry although her eyes watered from the substance and her back was hurting from bumping into her capture, who had released her arm after she finished speaking. Sunset could hear Trixie stammering out an explanation though her captor snorted at whatever Trixie had said.

"Pathetic. You really are as big of an idiot that everyone else thinks you are, aren't you?"

It wasn't until Sunset was sitting on a bench, a strange smelling liquid being poured into her face did she even realize what had happened and when she was finally able to open her eyes she saw Rainbow Dash and her group of friends, along with someone she never thought she would see standing in front of her.

Spitfire, the senior class president and captain of the girl's junior soccer team.

"Is your vision blurry? Clear? Does anything hurt?" Nurse Kindheart questioned, breaking Sunset's thoughts.

"A little blurry but I'll be alright." Sunset answered, noticing how angry Spitfire looked. She had a run in with the Senior before and knew exactly how sharp-tongued the orange haired girl could be. But her gaze didn't seem on Sunset but on the door of the principal's office, which they were seated in front of.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack both looked angry as well, though Rainbow kept shooting concerned looks toward Spitfire.

"What exactly was that stuff Trixie Lunatic threw at Sunset?" Rainbow Dash asked the nurse who just sighed and answered

"Salt."

The answer earned a lot of confused looks though Sunset let out a humorless laugh, causing everyone to turn to look at her as if she had lost her mind.

"Salt wards off evil. Back in ancient times, people would sprinkle salt around their homes to keep out vampires and werewolves. Remember we read that in English class while covering mythology?" she explained, trying not to let her emotions show in her voice.

Luna stood against the wall as not to crowd the teen. She was going to let Celestia play bad cop this time, she was too angry and Celestia had always been the one who could control her temper, even when the matters were this serious. All she could think about was how the incident could have cost Sunset her vision and despite her reluctance to forgive easily, she didn't want to see Sunset seriously hurt.

"If you're done with miss shimmer I need to have a word with her in my office." Luna stated after giving Kindheart enough time to make sure there was no damage.

"You can't be serious! Sunset's the victim here! You can't punish her because someone hurt her!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, causing Luna to arch a brow as she turned to her direction.

Rainbow Dash is loyal to a fault. I wonder if anyone else noticed the blood on Sunset's shirt. Either there's more that happened this morning or if she was actually physically injured during the fall formal incident. Luna thought, though in her regular, stern tone she responded

"Principal Celestia will want to hear her side of the story. So I suggest you get to class miss. Dash."

Luna followed Sunset into the office, noticing the worried look Spitfire sent her, making it obvious that the athlete had seen the same things that Luna had.

Shutting the door and locking it, pulling the shade down over the window of the door before turning toward Sunset.

"Take off your jacket."

Sunset was a bit taken aback by the command, though before she could even get her mouth to form the word 'why' Luna Continued to speak, her tone becoming softer than Sunset had ever heard it.

"I saw the blood. I want to see how bad the injuries are. I would have mentioned it to Kindheart but she doesn't know about the whole demon thing."

Sunset knew she didn't have a choice, that Luna would find a way to force her to comply so slowly she removed her leather jacket, wincing as the motion irritated her back. She could feel heat crawling into her face as she felt Luna's lift the back of the bloodstained cloth.

Oh, come on! I lived in a world where clothing was optional for years! Why does having another female looking at your back embarrass you? Sunset mentally scolded herself as she tried to stand still.

Luna felt her eyes widen when she saw the state of the teenager's back which was slick with blood. The wounds themselves were almost as wide as her palm, red and angry as if the skin had just been flayed away from her shoulder blades.

"Sunset, You should have told someone you were hurt! How did this happen?" Luna demanded, the harshness of her tone causing Sunset to flinch.

"It was the wings I grew or at least I think that's what it was. I remember feeling the pain as they came in." Sunset said in a low voice, not quite a whisper but still low. She didn't want to have this conversation, didn't want to explain her actions and didn't want the pity she knew she would get.

She heard the vice principal sigh at her answer before she walked over to her desk, producing a first aid kit from one of the larger drawers.

"You made this worse on yourself. If you had told someone last night I could have used an antiseptic that didn't hurt as much. But right now all I have is Alcohol and peroxide and to be frank, both burn like hell." Luna said, sending Sunset an apologetic look.

"To be honest, do I deserve less?" Sunset responded, earning a scoff from the woman who began to set out what she would use on the desk.

"Against protocol or not, you say that again and I will hit you with something."

Sunset half believed the woman was serious until she saw the smirk and realized that Luna was joking. Wait, Since when did she even smile? What is going on?

Sunset wondered, caught off guard by the action though she managed to snap out of her stupor long enough to come when she was motioned over. Luna tried to be gentle as she tried to clean the blood from the unharmed skin, noticing deep bruising that rain like veins from the injuries.

"Does magic always harm the user in such a way?" She asked, wondering how anyone would subject themselves to that level of pain.

"No. I mean there are spells that hurt like hell when they hit someone but that's an equivalent of a slap or punch depending on the mana the user wants to put into the blast. What I did...I tried to use a type of magic I wasn't ready for, I'm lucky a sore back is all I got." Sunset replied softly, remembering Princess Celestia's warning about using advanced magic the day before Sunset had run away.

This is one hell of a spanking for being a dumbass. Sunset thought wincing as something cold was pressed on her lower back where the tail of her demon form had been. Who would have thought that Principal Luna could be gentle?

"Sunset, try to brace yourself. This will sting but it's better than getting an infection." the vice principal's voice called her from her thoughts. Sunset nodded, tightening her grip on her jacket as she felt something cold being sprayed onto her skin, then the fire ignited.

She could feel tears running down her face as she buried her face into her jacket to try to keep from screaming because of the pain, having to choke back sobs when the spray was directed to the smaller wound that was partly covered by the waistband of her skirt.

When Celestia heard the muffled screams she thought the worst but when she opened the door to see Sunset sitting with her back covered in thick bandages she froze, half because of the number of bloody rags in the trash and half because her sister was crouched down beside of Sunset, a hand stroking the teen's hair.

"What happened?" Celesta asked, earning a sigh from Luna.

"Let's just say that demon form left its mark." Luna said, feeling mentally exhausted. She could only imagine the pain she had put the girl through the previous day. Running a hand over her face, Luna tried not to feel guilty about it. after all, she hadn't known about the injuries.

"You stay with her, she's in no shape to return to class right now." then with that Luna left the office, slamming the door behind her. Celestia saw Sunset wince at the sound.

"Are you alright?" it was a stupid question Celestia knew but the silence was unnerving.

"I'm fine." Sunset answered simply before moving her stiff shoulders with a wince "I guess I should have told someone I was hurt before. May not have ruined my favorite shirt if I had."


	4. Chapter 4

**A\N: To try to make some sort of time frame for this story I'm more or less thinking that canterlot high is a 7th-12th school (not too uncommon in some areas)**

 **Thanks again for the reviews. I am new to this fandom and this is the first time I have written seriously using these characters**

"What did Nightmare moon want?"

Sunset nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice, causing her to whirl around only to see Rainbow Dash and AppleJack standing there, the latter looking as if she was sizing Sunset up.

"She was just concerned about what happened." Sunset lied easily, earning a snort from Rainbow Dash who suddenly snapped Sunset's locker shut, surprising the yellow-skinned girl.

"Spitfire told us about the blood she saw when you fell into her. So spill. Who hurt you?"

Sunset was at a loss for words. Why was the prism haired athlete concerned? How should she respond to that? She knew how she would feel if she had hurt someone the night of the fall formal and she didn't want to make anyone feel like that.

"I did it to myself," she answered simply, trying not to make eye contact "When I turned into that she-demon thing." it was only half the truth because she wasn't sure if it had been the transformation or the rainbow blast that had left her wounded.

"Well since Miss. Loony threw salt in your face like a total retard I wasn't sure if someone had hit you with something or what." Rainbow stated, earning a look from Applejack because of her wording.

"Anyway, We were wondering if you wanted to sit with us. It would beat eating alone." the country girl said, causing Sunset to glance down. She didn't understand how they could even speak to her, sure they had promised Twilight Sparkle to keep an eye on her but that didn't mean they have to be nice.

"Okay. I kind of still need to apologize to everyone anyway."

You could have heard a pin drop when they walked into the cafeteria when Sunset walked in. Applejack and Rainbow Dash flanked her as if daring anyone to try to do anything but that didn't make Sunset feel any better.

"You guys don't have to do this." Sunset said, keeping her gaze glued to the floor as she followed them to their table.

"You're right, we don't. But this whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth! I understand people are afraid of you and you were pretty bad to everyone but that doesn't excuse how they're acting." Rainbow Dash said bluntly.

"Your right about that. Bullyin' is still wrong no matter who is on the receiving end and it's like Granny Smith always says; If you take an eye for an eye then the whole world would be blind." Applejack said in agreement before glancing over at Sunset who seemed lost in thought.

"look, I'm sorry for the shit I've done over the past few years. I came here in the middle of your eighth-grade year and was this snobby, self-centered brat with an ego." Sunset began as they drew closer to the table where the other girls sat. She waited until she was standing beside the table before speaking again.

"I thought I was better than everyone because of how much smarter I seemed to be then freshman year I saw your little hodgepodge group and I got jealous. I wouldn't admit it then but most of you had something that I wanted for myself, well more than one thing."

She had to pause, her voice breaking slightly as she searched for the words to describe the emotions she had pushed aside for so long. Feeling a hand on her shoulder she looked to see Applejack was looking at her, green eyes speaking silent encouragement.

Taking a deep breath Sunset gather herself to continue

"Rarity you were popular not only because of your looks but because you were so kind to everyone. It made me sick how generous you were with everyone, even the people everyone else looked down on and Rainbow Dash, you were popular because you were good at something and didn't let your ego kill out everyone else's self-esteem."

Again she paused, her hands balling into a fist as she continued "I was even jealous of the friendship you had. I would never admit it back then but seeing you all together made me realize how lonely I really was."

Sunset could have continued, dragging out everything that she had ever hated these five girls over but each one grew more and more personal and she didn't want to have to remember her past, not with everything else going on.

"I guess it took a rainbow to the face to erase my pride long enough to make me realize just how wrong I was...and make me face what I really was feeling all along and I'm sorry."

Sunset didn't know what she was expecting, but it wasn't Rainbow Dash's hand gripping her other shoulder or being suddenly tackled into a hug by Pinkie Pie.

"Hey, everyone makes mistakes and if your willing to own up and try to change then that's good enough for us." Rainbow Dash said, surprising Sunset who had expected her to be the most stubborn of the group.

"Really? I thought you would hate me after everything." Sunset said, surprised by all of this. She could feel the eyes of the whole school on her as they stared in disbelief.

"Hate Is such a strong word. Sure we were angry and rightfully so but as far as hate…" Rarity began, trailing off as if lost in thought.

"Ah can't say Ah hated ya. Sure wanted to deck ya in the nose a few times though." Applejack replied but then shrugged and added: "but as long as ya don't stab us in the back again, Ah think we can all agree to give ya a second chance."

Sunset felt tears fill her eyes as she heard this. She couldn't believe that she was hearing this. Even after almost killing them they were willing to forgive her.

"Thanks, everyone. I...I'll try not to screw this up."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Bold Italic=flashback**_

 _Italics=thoughts_

 **A\N: kinda based some of this on one line found in the anon-a-miss comic.**

Sunset sighed as she opened her locker, trying to ignore the words that were scrawled over the door in permanent marker. She knew that if she looked at the words that they would be whirling around in her mind all evening and she didn't need to give whoever was over her detention any other reason to be angry with her.

The whole day she had been either glared at or ignored by teachers. She had listened to the snickers and insults from nearly every student that had been within a ten-mile radius of her and the ones who didn't ignore her.

Heading toward the room she had been assigned and groaned when she saw that it was Mrs. Harshwhinny, the AP English teacher who wasn't anyone's favorite. Sunset made it a point to just go into the room and took a seat at the main back of the class.

Celestia sighed as she watched from the window as the construction crew filled the crater that the blast had left. She wondered where Luna had gone off to after getting Sunset a clean shirt. It wasn't like Luna to run off like that but she had a feeling this whole fiasco was becoming personal for the younger woman.

"Why don't you go back where you came from? No one wants you here!"

Sunset tried to ignore them and get her algebra homework finished. But with each insult growing worse and adding to the sting that had already been building. She felt like crying or punching something, which one she wasn't sure.

"I bet you came here because no one wanted you where you came from either!"

That was the last draw, causing her to snap and whirl around to face the snickering boys beside her.

"Shut up! Just shut the hell up!"

Celestia wasn't sure what to expect when she got a call telling her Sunset Shimmer had been sent to her office. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't the crying teenager that slammed the door closed behind her.

"Mrs. Harshwhinny told me you had a random outburst. Care to tell me the whole story?" She prompted once Sunset had a moment to regain some composer.

"Stupid Thorn and his f….group of friends. I tried to ignore it but then they….Thorn said…"

Sunset felt as if she could barely breathe suddenly, a knot forming in her throat. _No one wanted you there either!_ The words kept repeating themselves into her mind until she felt as if she was going crazy, her chest was tightening and she felt sick.

"They were right."

She sobbed the confession, confusing Celestia who moved to comfort her. "Who were? What did they say, Sunset?"

Celestia asked, sitting beside of the fiery-haired girl who had wrapped her arms around herself as if to try to shield herself from the heartbreak she felt. Just seeing the usually confident teen so distressed tugged at her heart. When the only answer she got was a louder sob Celestia put an arm around her, feeling the girl lean into the touch.

 _What could they say that hurt you so? How were they right, Sunset?_

Celestia wondered, running a hand along the girl's shoulders careful not to press too hard on the injuries.

"Sorry, I...Didn't mean to do that." Sunset sniffled after a while as she pulled away, using the back of her sleeve to dry her eyes. She knew that there had to be some level of professionalism between the two of them but one, naive part of her wanted to return the embrace.

"I understand. Now, do you think you can tell me what had you so upset in the first place?" Celestia replied, smiling sympathetically as she handed Sunset a tissue she produced from her pocket.

"It's nothing." Sunset responded, advertising her gaze as the principal arched a brow.

"Nothing doesn't leave people in tears and on the verge of a panic attack." The woman responded, her hand returning to rest on the teen's back. She knew that Sunset was hiding something.

Sunset bit her lip as she tried to figure out some way to lie out of this but one look at the woman made her reconsider.

"Even if I could go back home I...I don't have anyone back there except Twilight. I fucked...sorry...messed things up because of my pride and ambition and lost the closest thing to a family I ever had." Sunset confessed, her voice wavering as she remembered one particular day that had more or less sealed her fate.

" _ **You are not ready. What can I do to make you see that? Your ambition will be your downfall if you keep chasing after power."**_

" _ **You just don't want me to have anything! You're just like everyone else!"**_

" _ **Sunset, you know that is not true! I may not be able to…"**_

Shaking her head to rid herself of the thoughts that flickered through her mind. She didn't want to remember Princess Celestia, she didn't want to remember her childhood. She wished she could just forget everything.

"What about the names you listed on your paperwork? I know they don't live in this world but they were your parents, right?" Celestia asked softly, brushing a strand of hair from Sunset's face.

"They were supposed to be. my _family_ and I were never close and that was _before_ I became an overconfident jerk." Sunset answered honestly. "I mean who tells their preschooler that they'll never be anything? I mean, I kinda lived up to that with this whole Element magic she-demon thing."

Celestia was at a loss for words, though after a few minutes she managed to make her mind conjure the words.

"Sunset Shimmer," she began "You are not worthless and I have absolute faith that you _can_ be whatever it is you set your mind to. Sure you made mistakes but no one is perfect and let me tell you something, what happens in the past does **not** mean you are that person. Your past does not define you."

"Then what does?" Sunset snapped, though her anger was quick to dissolve into regret. "Sorry, you didn't deserve that."

Celestia, to her surprise, didn't react to her outburst but instead replied: "What defines you is what you do, not what you have done."


	6. Chapter 6

"Thanks, Chrissy. You just made this whole mess a lot easier." Luna said sticking a yellow envelope into her purse as she turned to the darker woman who just smirked from behind the computer.

"Don't mention it though I am surprised Celestia agreed to this." Chrissy responded, earning a smirk from Luna who responded "trust me, if we had any other choice even I wouldn't stoop this low. After all, we're not teenagers anymore and this is beyond a fake ID. How do you know how to hack encrypt systems anyway?"

"Trust me, Luna, you do not want to know."

Luna chuckled as she shrugged "I will leave it at that. Now, tell me exactly what you've been up to these last few months. You vanished off the face of the planet."

The other woman, who looked like the Covergirl for a body art magazine with the multiple tattoos and piercings she had decorating her body laughed softly

"I had to travel to Manhattan to finish my computer tech program, Unlike _some_ people I didn't get my head out of my ass before my thirties." Chrissy retorted, chuckling at the look Luna shot her.

"Are you talking about me or about Celestia? Because I remember you two hated each other and we _**all**_ had our head up our asses at one point or another." Luna questioned, earning a laugh.

"I'll let you guess who I was talking about. By the way, how is Celestia? Are she and that crackpot still playing still dancing around each other?" Chrissy retorted, turning her attention back to the computer.

Luna rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh at the question "what do you think? Tia is too stubborn to accept his proposal. They've been in an on again off again relationship since college. How the hell did that man become a doctor is beyond me."

Chrissy scoffed as she looked over the monitor, blowing her bangs out of her face as she retorted "the guy is comical, doesn't have a formal bone in his body and could make a rock laugh. There is a reason he is a therapist and not a brain surgeon."

Luna had to agree, the man did have his positive points and he could be funny, at times at least. As the silence fell over them Luna decided to send a text to Celestia, at least to explain where she was and what she was doing.

"So this Sunset Shimmer….How exactly did you and Celestia end up with an undocumented teenager, to begin with?"

Luna let out a sigh then, pinching the bridge of her nose to ward off a headache she was sure she would leave this apartment with.

"Chrysalis, before I answer that. Do you still believe in magic?"

The teal haired woman's eyes widened as she turned her full attention to Luna.

"What? As in the silly shit, magicians do or the shit Zerconia and I tried to prove existed to you?"

"The latter and in my defense Zerconia confused the hell out of me."

Celestia sighed as she finished up the massive amount of paperwork that she now had to send in thanks to the whole dance over at the _cause_ of this whole mess she sighed. It was hard not to forgive someone who had been a complete wreck afterward.

She watched the girl in silence, noticing how she seemed more interested in her homework than in anything else in the world. _I need to figure to put her until she is well enough to help the janitor._ Celestia sighed as she turned her attention back to her work.

Suddenly Celestia's cell phone began to ring, causing both of them to nearly jump out of their skins at the sudden sound.

"I'll step out and let you take that call." Sunset stated, not even waiting for a response before slipping out of the room and heading toward the bathroom.

"Hello? Luna, where the heck are you? Chrysalis did what? You both are crazy!"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I have noticed that Derpy has been called Muffins, Ditzy, etc. So for the sake of this story let's just go with Derpy as a nickname everyone calls her because at this point I am not sure what she is supposed to be is called.**

Sunset splashed water on her face as she stood in the bathroom. Her makeup and hair was a mess, her eyes were bloodshot from crying so much for the past few days and she couldn't stop sniffling. Sighing she closed her eyes, trying to scrub away the remains of her makeup, though she almost fell backward when she looked up only to see a flash of red in the mirror.

 _What the hell? I'm going crazy! It's not possible that that_ _ **thing**_ _is a part of me, is it?_

Sunset wondered, though her reflection had changed back to its normal appearance though it had left her shaken.

 _What if everyone is right? What if that blast didn't completely destroy the demon? What if I am still a monster? What if Princess Celestia sensed it inside me and that's why she wouldn't make me an alicorn? What if I end up hurting everyone again?_

Suddenly she couldn't breathe, her chest seeming to implode on itself causing her to sink to the ground. She suddenly felt cold and her mouth went dry. _Am I having a heart attack? Am I gonna die here in the bathroom? Talk about a bad way to go._ She thought, a sudden sob ripping through her chest _._ Wrapping her arms around herself she felt her heart hammering as if trying to break out of her ribs.

 _What is going on with me?_ She thought, bile rising in her throat as she glanced around, everything suddenly seeming like she was seeing through a fisheye lens.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts and feelings that she didn't notice anyone entering the bathroom until she felt a hand touch her shoulder, causing her to whirl around and grab the person's wrist only to see that it was a girl that she hadn't ever really learned the name of though the nickname everyone had taken to calling her was Derpy.

"Are you okay?"

She asked, not seeming even vaguely afraid of Sunset despite how many times the bacon haired teen had shoved her or otherwise treated her like garbage.

"I don't know. I just….feel weird and it's hard to breathe." Sunset answered, releasing the other girl's wrist and returning to her balled-up position.

"I'll go get someone to help. Just try to focus on your breathing and count backward from one hundred, it always helps me when I'm overwhelmed."

And with that Sunset was left alone once again, though the solitude didn't last long.

"Sunset Shimmer? Jeez, are you alright?"

Looking up she was surprised to see Rainbow Dash standing there covered in sweat.

"Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?"

The prism haired girl just shrugged and knelt beside of her.

"Soccer practice. We're facing our schools biggest rival after all." Rainbow answered simply before asking again "what's wrong?"

Sunset didn't know why she was suddenly so emotional but the question made anger surge through her.

"Do you think if I knew I'd be sitting on the bathroom floor?" she snapped, wincing at her own voice before adding in a softer, almost meek tone: "I think I'm dying."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at this and began to rub circles against Sunset's middle back, careful of the injuries.

"You ain't dying, dork. if anything you're having a panic attack. Fluttershy used to have them a lot. Just focus on what you can physically feel, see, hear and smell." She replied carefully, not wanting to make things worse.

When Derpy returned with Principal Celestia following close behind Sunset's sobbing had turned to sniffles and she wasn't breathing so hard.

"What happened?"

Rainbow Dash looked up at the principal and sighed before answering: "She had a panic attack for some reason." then, turning back to Sunset the athlete added "I'll go get you some water, okay? You'll be safe here with Celestia."

Sunset glanced at the aurora haired woman, though she quickly averted her gaze because the woman's concerned look reminded her too much of _her._

"Can you help me go somewhere besides the dirty floor? Please?" She asked, trying to change the topic.

* * *

"I don't know what happened. I suddenly saw that….thing in my reflection and I suddenly felt weird!" Sunset said as she sat on the bench in the hall, Rainbow Dash on one side and Principal Celestia on the other.

"You know that rainbow light show we hit you with destroyed that thing right? Besides that, you were mean before and pushed people around but you never tried to actually physically hurt anyone." Rainbow Dash reminded her, earning a look

"I shoved people around or Don't you remember how I locked Trixie into that closet? Or how I literally pinned Fluttershy to the wall like….a thousand times? Just because I didn't beat people up constantly doesn't mean I didn't get physical." Sunset retorted, not daring to make eye contact with either of them.

"Oh come on! Trixie is such a blowhard! Who _hasn't_ wanted to shove her inside a locker or something just once? And you didn't lock her in! You put a table in front of the door! As for Fluttershy, She forgave you so stop worrying about it though I still am mad about that. Sorta."

Rainbow responded though it was far easier to be angry when the target for your anger hadn't just been crying her eyes out not even ten minutes before.

 _Do I even want to know just what these two are talking about? You know what? I'm just going to ignore that they are talking about shutting another student into a locker._

"Whatever, I know you're no demon though. A jerk, possibly but not a demon."

 _Leave it to Rainbow Dash to be blunt about things. Then again, I guess I was pretty awful to everyone._

"Thanks...I think. I guess I should get back to detention. Um...Thanks again Rainbow Dash."

"Excuse me for saying this but what the heck was that? Was that the same Sunset Shimmer that was trying to fight with us last week?" Rainbow Dash asked, earning a sigh from Celestia.

"I am sure she'll tell somebody when she's ready."


	8. Chapter 8

Sunset sighed as she sat in the room she was told was now her own, though right now she felt as if she was just floating in a void, not belonging anywhere. After all, who would want a monster around? She couldn't help but think about that night of the fall formal. How easily could she have killed someone? The thought made her sick.

 _The only reason they offered you a place to stay was because they want to make e you don't go all evil again. No one really cares about you. Your parents didn't want you, and….neither did_ _ **she**_ _. If she did she wouldn't have just shoved your feelings back into your face!_

Pulling her knees to her chest she buried her face in her arms. She wished she could sleep, but she knew that if she closed her eyes she would just see burned or bloody bodies all around her.

 _I bet she sensed the evil inside me. That's why she gave up on me so easily._ Sunset thought bitterly, remembering the anger and disappointment in the usually calm tone. " _This path you are on will be your downfall. You allow your own ambition to drown you and you will find yourself forever alone. If you insist on gaining power you can no longer be my student."_

Tears began to trickle down her face despite how tightly she squeezed her eyes shut to keep them in. _I was_ _ **always alone.**_ _No one ever wanted me around, it was like I was invisible...like now. Princess Celestia was the only one who seemed to care but once I screwed up she just...gave up on me. Just like everyone else._

Glancing over at the book that sat on her desk, a leather-bound tome bearing a print of her cutie mark on the cover. Why had she even brought that with her to this world? Had she hoped that Celestia would write her?

Even the thought of that hurt because the Princess, of course, hadn't ever bothered and why should she? Sunset had been a snide little brat.

 _No wonder she didn't care about me. All I deserved was a smack upside the head for being an idiot. No wonder she chose Candace over me, even if I did just want to make her proud of me._

She was tired of crying, tired of thinking, tired of being a charity case. She knew that was one of the only reasons Celestia had chosen her to begin with, to look like such a good ruler.

"She should have just sent me away after Candace came to the castle. It would have hurt less." Sunset mumbled to herself, her heart feeling as if it would shatter at the mere thought of the pink pony.

 _She wouldn't even let me think of her as anything more than my teacher, always keeping me at arm's length but someone who had everything...got to call her aunt. What did I do wrong? That was way before I...broke into the restricted section. Before I...Became so bitter. I was just a filly wanting to…_

"Stop being pathetic Sunset Shimmer! You don't have time for this shit."

She told herself, forcing back some of the tears that threatened to fall. Glancing at the clock she saw it was three o'clock in the morning and she had school the next day. Letting out a groan she slowly got out of bed, making her way to the kitchen. She had to find something to help her sleep or else she would be useless tomorrow.

Glancing through the cabinets and drawers, being as quiet as she could she found a bottle containing pink pills. Quickly scanning the label she found that it would be the perfect thing to help her to get her mind to stop remembering things that weren't any longer important.

Finding a glass and filling it halfway at the sink she downed two of the capsules, wincing as they went down.

 _Well, I guess that's one thing that never changed about me. I hate pills._

She thought, trying to think about anything but how screwed up her life was at this point.

* * *

The next morning Celestia winced as she heard something crash and then shatter upstairs, though she just chuckled and shook her head. _And here I thought Luna was hard to wake up, I don't think she ever broke a clock. But then again, hers' wasn't beside the bed._ she thought, making a mental note to purchase another from a local dollar store, so if it got broke she wouldn't be out of a lot of money.

"You okay up there?" She called, laughing silently when she heard a muffled "Yeah!" shouted back.

Soon Sunset had drug herself downstairs. She was dressed in a pair of leggings and an orange shirt, though that was covered by a grey hooded jacket.

"I owe you for a clock. Sorry." Sunset muttered, not sounding sorry at all though the principal wrote it off as not being a morning person.

"I heard. Anyway, how are you this morning? Your back isn't bothering you much?"

Sunset grimaced as Celestia set a plate of eggs down in front of her, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Would you like something else?" Her host questioned, causing Sunset to blush.

"No thank you. Sorry, I just," she paused, trying to figure out what to say "I have a lot of stuff on my mind this morning and no, my back's okay."

Just how could you tell someone they reminded you of someone else? Someone you looked up to? Someone who replaced you twice?

Sunset sighed and began to eat, trying to ignore the magenta eyes that seemed to be searching her to see if she was telling the truth or not.

"Sunset, I know this arrangement is kind of odd, to say the least. But I want you to know you can talk to me if you ever need to okay?"

Sunset nodded slowly though a voice inside her mind, much like how her own voice sounded as a demon said " _why trust her? Everyone you ever thought you could trust or even love abandoned you!'_


	9. Chapter 9

Tuesday was no better for Sunset Shimmer, especially since even the teachers seemed to be ignoring her or at least what the other people were doing to her. Even Flash had joined in with everyone, bumping into her in such a way that made her crash into a locker.

"Not so tough now are you Sun Shit?"

"No one wants you here! Why don't you just go back where you belong?"

"Or better yet, Go kill yourself!"

Suddenly Sunset felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to wince and turn around only to see Applejack standing there, glaring at the crowd.

"Don't ya'll have a class to get to?"

Sunset couldn't help but feel a tad bit glad that Applejack was actually on her side this time.

"Come on, Let's get to Algebra Class. Don't let 'em get to ya."

* * *

Invisible.

That's how she felt as she sat in the middle of the classroom, no one dared to talk to her, not even the teachers would call on her. She felt as if she was a ghost floating in the void. She felt pathetic for wishing she had someone to run to, someone who would accept her despite everything that had happened.

 _Who am I kidding? Who would ever care about a pathetic, has-been like me?_

As soon as the bell rang she made her way toward the auditorium, knowing that no one would be using it this period. She knew she would be in even more trouble if she was caught skipping class but she didn't care. She just wanted to be alone.

 _The girls just pity me, just like the Principals. I bet they all just act nice toward me to me just because they are afraid I'll turn into queen bitch again. I...I guess I wanted to believe them because I just don't want to be alone anymore._

Closing her eyes she imagined the familiar feeling of feathers wrapping around her, though the memories didn't comfort her, just made her long for the past. She missed how simple things were, back before she turned into the snide little brat that ran away because she didn't get what she wanted.

She remembered the book she had brought with her through the portal and briefly wondered if it would work though she didn't let that hope fester after all the princess wouldn't want to talk to the brat who betrayed her, stole her prized student's crown and then tried to take over a whole kingdom with a teenaged army!

She didn't know how long she had stayed there however she did vaguely hear the bell ring at least three times. She knew she had missed at least two class periods but why go to class when no one even cared if she was there or not?

Suddenly the slam of the door caused her to fall off the box she was sitting on.

"Who's there? You might as well come out! Trixie knows you're there!"

Sunset just groaned as she sat up, rubbing the back of her head.

"It's just me. Don't worry, I'm not going to turn into some kind of fire-breathing monster again." Sunset responded, half expecting the magician to be sarcastic however when the other girl came over she noticed that her clothes were mildly scorched.

"Sunset Shimmer? Whoa, you look awful."

 _Gee thanks. Sunset thought_

"So why are you hiding here in the dark? Don't you have someone to terrorize or something?" Trixie asked though the accusation that Sunset had heard all day wasn't in her tone.

"I'm not terrorizing anything! Don't you dare start!" Sunset snapped, slumping down even farther before she added: "so why are you in here...and your hat is smoking."

Trixie blushed and removed her hat, sighing and sitting down.

"Trixie may have tried to do a new trick during her free period and it...didn't work out." the white haired girl admitted before glancing over at Sunset

"have you been crying? Trixie won't make fun of you if you have and Trixie is sorry about throwing Salt at you. I guess I overreacted."

Sunset sighed as she looked up, surprised by Trixie's statement.

"I just couldn't take it. Everyone was either glaring or ignoring me. My algebra teacher wouldn't even answer my question! I mean I want to change but...How can I when no one will give me a chance?" Sunset confessed, burying her face in her hands.

A silence fell over them then as Trixie looked down at her still smoking hat, brow furrowed in thought.

"Trixie can see you're serious so she has decided to give you a chance. After all, Trixie knows how it feels when no one takes you seriously."

Sunset could barely believe this after all this was the same girl she had trapped in a closet and had tripped and humiliated countless times.

"How can you say that? I was horrible to you. I locked you in a supply closet!" Sunset reminded Trixie who just glared.

"Trixie knows that! Trixie just…" She trailed off as if losing her train of thought to a memory "Trixie knows what it's like not to have many friends. Trixie has never fit in."

Sunset knew had this been a few weeks ago she would have said something snide like 'no wonder' or 'I don't blame them, with your annoying lingo and stupid tricks that don't even work.' but in that moment Sunset could swear she saw a vulnerable side to the otherwise arrogant girl beside of her.

"Hey, at least they don't find a way to make curse words rhyme with your name I have been called Sunset Shitter and Sun Shit all day. Not to mention someone in first period decided to call me bat-bitch." Sunset said, trying to break the dark cloud that was now looming over the room.

"That's something else I need to apologize for. I may have been the one who wrote demon bitch on your locker." Trixie confessed, earning a sigh from the fiery-haired girl.

"Hey, I deserve some of the things people say. I just wish I didn't feel so alone."


	10. Chapter 10

Sunset knew that Principal Celestia knew about the three classes she had blown off, though when she reported to the front office for instructions on where to go for detention it hadn't been mentioned.

But now, sitting in the silence of the front office Sunset was sure that the aurora haired woman was ignoring her on purpose.

"Luna and I decided you will do more or less community service once your back is a bit better. None of us want you to injure yourself any farther." Celestia finally spoke as she finished with the paperwork she had been working on "What happened today? I had some concerning reports."

Sunset prepared for the lecture she knew was coming however when she looked up she didn't see a stern look, just concern.

"I really don't want to talk about it." the teenager answered, not wanting to dig herself into a deeper hole than she already was in. She didn't want to get into even more trouble or get her new acquaintance into hot water either.

"Is it true someone told you to kill yourself earlier today? Some of your friends were concerned." Celestia prompted gently, earning a sigh from the teen who looked up from where she was doodling.

"Applejack told you didn't she? But yeah, someone did and no I'm not low enough to even think of doing that so don't worry." Sunset replied, wanting to shut down this argument before it started.

"Don't even pretend the words don't hurt you Sunset Shimmer. You may put on a tough girl persona in front of your friends but you don't have to in front of me. Now tell me what happened today and I already know you skipped your third and fourth-period classes." Celestia responded, her tone turning slightly more serious.

"Then give me extra days on my sentence or something already! We don't need to talk about anything!" Sunset exclaimed, blushing as she noticed how harsh her tone was and that she had just yelled at not only her principal but the person she was living with.

"Sorry, you didn't deserve that I just had a really really crappy day and I don't want to talk about it right now." she quickly added, sinking down into the seat and waited for Celestia to lecture her for either skipping or losing her temper, though it never came.

"I figured you had since your eyes are still red. I can't overlook you skipping class but I can assume you had a reason to risk getting in more trouble." Celestia stated, standing and getting something from the shelf behind her desk before coming over and taking a seat beside of her.

"It's not as a punishment but I want you to write down everything about your day. What you feel, think, everything. Anything you write won't get you in trouble, that I promise you. I just don't want you keeping your feelings bottled up." Celestia said, handing her an empty notebook.

"What? You want me to keep a diary like some little kid?" Sunset responded, arching a brow at the woman who just sighed.

"I figured if you didn't want to tell anyone about what's bothering you so you could express it through writing." Celestia stated, ignoring the girl's retort before adding, pointing to a stack of folders "as for punishment for skipping two classes, you can help me file these."

Sunset let out a groan, though she was glad that the pile of files was small and it wouldn't take very long. They worked in silence for a while until Sunset finally spoke, her tone just above a whisper.

"Sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have been that rude to you. I mean, you're one of the few people not giving me a hard time." Sunset apologized again, turning to face Celestia who just smiled slightly.

"I know, you think we don't notice how others treat you? We might not be able to make people talk to you but I promise that we won't let any harm come to you. It wouldn't be right and you've been hurt enough by the transformation from what Luna saw." Celestia responded, brushing a stray strand of hair out of Sunset's face as she added: "no one deserves that, especially not someone who is trying so hard."

The gesture caused Sunset to blush though she didn't try to pull away from the touch.

"Thanks...I'm glad someone believes in me." she mumbled, almost too low for Celestia to hear.

"You know those girls you hang out with seems to believe it too. I heard one of them tell off Luna yesterday." Celestia reminded her earning a humorous chuckle.

"I'm sure they are just hanging around me because Twilight Sparkle told them to." Sunset muttered as she stepped back and grabbed another file before going over to the cabinet.

"I don't think I've ever seen either AppleJack or Rainbow Dash do something they didn't want to do. I think if you gave it a chance you could have some really great friends."

Sunset rolled her eyes as she heard this, though she thought back to Trixie who had nearly driven her crazy with a completely one-sided conversation about stage magic. Trixie, as stubborn and egotistical she was didn't seem to have been lying or faking it when she had said she'd give Sunset a chance.

 _I could be friends with her if she would stop with the talking in third-person and throwing smoke bombs all the damn time! I mean what in Tartarus does she prove by that? That she doesn't have bad lungs?_

"I think I made a friend today without Princess Twilight's help. Though I will probably need mental help by the time I get used to hanging around her." Sunset announced after a few minutes of total silence.

"That's great. See, things are looking up already."


	11. Chapter 11

The smell of sulfur, smoke, and burning flesh filled her senses as she came to herself, the crown falling with a clang onto the ground. She looked down then and right there on the ground in front of her was the corpse of the very Princess she had idolized.

She awoke with a scream, jerking awake and glancing around her room which was only lightened by the dull glow of the streetlamp outside the window. She felt sick and sobs shook her body. She knew that what she saw was what that demon wanted. It had wanted all the power in the world for itself, even if it meant killing. Sunset had never wanted that.

"Sunset? What's wrong?"

Suddenly Sunset became aware of the lights being flipped on as Celestia had entered the room. Unable to form a coherent sentence Sunset just shook her head while sitting up. She closed her eyes, trying to fight back the images of the corpses lying around her but the dream was still all too vivid in her mind for her to be able to forget,

However, suddenly she became aware of a hand rubbing her back which brought her back to reality. She didn't even think as she threw herself at Celestia, crying into the woman's shoulder. She couldn't keep from shaking, the images from her dream flashing through her mind.

"I never meant to hurt anyone. I just wanted to prove…"

She didn't expect Celestia to return the embrace and when she felt arms tighten around her she froze. Was this real or was she dreaming?

"I'm sorry." she whispered burying her face against the fluffy material of the principal's pajamas. As she calmed down she felt another wave of emotion, embarrassment. _Why are you crying like a foal_? _It was a dream! There's no way you ever actually was strong enough to even scratch Princess Celestia! Way to go, now you look as pathetic as you feel. I bet you just weirded Principal Celestia out! Why did you have to hug her like that? You don't even really know her outside of school!_ She mentally scolded herself as she pushed herself away from the woman.

"Sorry...I just had a dream that really freaked me out. I shouldn't have glommed onto you like that." Sunset apologized, blushing as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"Sunset, don't ever apologize for something like that." Celestia's voice was stern but not harsh as she spoke, using the edge of the blanket to dry the redhead's eyes. "I hate seeing you suffering so much and I know that _thing_ wasn't you or at least not completely. I know you did a lot of things wrong before Sunset but you would have never tried to seriously hurt someone."

Sunset wanted to argue with her, to say that she had always been a monster but Celestia continued before Sunset had time to even open her mouth. "You pushed people around, blackmailed people, stole and lied. I am well aware of that but would you ever badly hurt someone?"

"I hurt people enough. I know what I did wasn't physical but I know emotional and mental abuse is worse. But...I never wanted to actually hurt anyone. I just wanted to prove I was powerful. That I was good enough to become a princess but I...I just proved I didn't deserve anything that I wanted." Sunset confessed, tears once again filling her eyes.

 _I don't deserve anything I wanted. Not even the family that I wanted. No wonder I was all alone and couldn't make any friends._

"And what is it that you wanted?"

The question caught Sunset off guard. How could she answer that? That she wanted to be a princess? That she wanted the Princess of her world to be proud of her? To actually think of her as a family, like she had Cadence?

"I...Remember when I said I ran away because the Princess of my world had told me I wasn't ready to be an alicorn? That was only half of it really." the redhead confessed as she glanced down at the bed to avoid making eye contact with this world's Celestia.

"I felt like I was never good enough. I...I guess both the princess and I had unreasonable expectations of each other. But I was just a child at that point in time, I was naive and then when that blew up in my face I turned into a snide, arrogant little brat. But it hurt like hell...knowing I would never have…"

Sunset trailed off, tears spilling over silently though she just brushed them away.

 _Why am I telling her this? She's not..._ _ **her**_ _. She's not going to care about what my intentions were before I got so greedy and arrogant. I let myself be ruled by that bitterness, greed, and anger until I ended up thinking I could put on a crown and become a princess. How dumb could I have been?_

Celestia didn't know what to or even if she could say anything that would make a difference but she knew that if Sunset Shimmer could trust her enough to tell her this much then she had to at least try to be there for the girl.

"Sunset Shimmer," She began after a while of just sitting with the girl, "you may have made mistakes but I think if I were the princess and I saw you as banged up and upset as you are right now I would be more concerned with the well being of my former student. Besides, I would accept an apology from anyone who meant it."

Sunset thought to the journal that set on her desk then. _Would Princess Celestia be as forgiving?_ Sunset wasn't sure though she leaned against the woman's side.

"I'm sorry for waking you up and keeping you up so late. You can go to bed if you want." The teenager muttered after a while, pulling away though Celestia just shook her head.

"Not until I know that you're alright. How about we go downstairs and I'll make us some tea?"

* * *

"You look like hell." Rainbow Dash stated as Sunset joined her group of friends by Pinkie Pie's locker, earning a slight glare from the redhead.

"Gee thanks, Rainbow Dash. I appreciate the vote of confidence." Sunset quipped sarcastically, earning a chuckle from Applejack who was flipping through her something on her phone.

"Okay, for one Sunset. Call me Rainbow or Dash or something but it's weird being called my full name all the time, especially since no one else in our group does. For two, you're not a morning person are you?"

Sunset sighed then, blushing slightly "Alright and No, I hate mornings with a passion and I was up all night so I'm running on about two hours of sleep but thank the stars, my guardian, actually got more sleep than me. I would hate for her to have to go to work completely drained."

"That answers one question Ah had. Just where do ya live Sunset?" Applejack questioned just as the bell rang.

"I'll tell you guys at lunch. If I'm late for history I'm dead and I have enough detention to suffer through."

She wondered if she could tell them that she was living with Principal Celestia or if it would be best to keep it a secret. Would Celestia be upset with her? After all, everyone could say that the principal was playing favorites but Sunset knew she wasn't.

 _If I mess up now I know I won't get by with it. I mean by Tartarus I'd be getting punished twice then for the same thing because if she is anything like the Celestia I grew up around she won't hide her disappointment and I'd have to face both the professional and non-professional sides of her._

Sunset thought as she walked into the classroom, taking her seat at the far back of the class and beside the cross-eyed girl who had gone for help when Sunset had been nearly in hysterics.

"Good morning Sunset Shimmer. How are you this morning?" the girl said in a rather cheerful voice.

"Morning and I am doing alright I guess...um...Sorry, but I forgot your name." Sunset replied, blushing slightly as she glanced away.

"It's okay. My name is Ditzy Doo."


	12. Chapter 12

"Wait, so you had actual gems?"

"I'm surprised you lived on your own! How old were you? Thirteen?"

Sunset sighed as s tried to figure out how to explain all of this without giving it away that she was living with the principal. Running a hand over her face she mentally prayed that she wouldn't end up with a headache.

"Yes I own actual gems and gold and Rainbow Dash, I'm not that needy. I still don't need anyone taking care of me." Sunset explained, then thought back to the previous night and sighed. "But after last night I am kinda glad I was forced to live with _someone._ "

"Was the nightmare that bad?" Fluttershy asked quietly as she turned to Sunset, causing the redhead to sigh.

"I don't really want to talk about but yes, it was. It seems that ever since the fall formal everything about me is all wrong. I've been this emotional mess! I swear I have cried more in the last few days than I have in my whole life!" Sunset confessed, her voice growing more annoyed with every word.

"You've been through a lot darling. Of course, you're emotional." Rarity said, placing a hand on Sunset's though the yellow-skinned girl just blushed.

"Rarity's right. As hard it is to believe miss badass actually is capable of crying, you kinda have a reason to be all emotional. Besides, you don't have to face this whole mess alone."

"Yeah, ya have us and the whole school can't possibly hate ya."

Sunset looked around the table then before her eyes flicked over to where Trixie sat with her two friends. Had Trixie been serious about giving her a chance? Suddenly their eyes met and Trixie smiled, just a slight twitch of her lips but a smile no less.

"you're right. I just have to stick with it. After a while, people will start believing I changed." Sunset said, turning her attention to her lunch tray. _I just have to focus on the now, not what happened in the past. Just like Celestia said._

"Hey Sunset, since you're our friend now want to come to our sleepover this weekend?" Pinkie asked, catching Sunset off guard.

"What? You can't be serious! It wasn't even a week ago I was mean to everyone!" Sunset exclaimed, earning a chuckle from Rainbow who shrugged.

"She is serious, besides that, if you want to be friends that means getting to know each other outside of school. I may be an awesome athlete but there's more to me than just that."

"Alright...I'll come. _If_ I'm not grounded or something." Sunset stated, just as she felt her phone leave her jacket pocket and saw Pinkie typing something into the screen.

"What in Tartarus are you doing?" Sunset asked, earning a bunch of odd looks from her newfound friends. "What?"

"Um, Sunset, not to sound rude but what the heck is a Tartarus?" Applejack asked, earning a sigh from the redhead who facepalmed.

"Right, I'm a unicorn from another realm. Hell….Tartarus. Basically the same exact thing." she explained, not wanting to explain the difference to her friends or the fact that Tartarus was a real place where she was from.

"Then just say hell! Hell is easier to say anyway!" Rainbow Dash said, earning a dirty look from Rarity and Applejack.

"I think she can speak however she wants. Besides, it is obviously a thing where she is from." Rarity said just as the bell rang.

"Well, I gotta go. I got caught skipping yesterday and Principal Celestia would kill me if I got into any more trouble." Sunset said quickly, taking her phone only to see that all the girl's numbers had been added to her phone.

"I guess I'll text one of you if I can come?"

* * *

Sunset felt as if her hands were going to fall off as she finished washing the last of the tables in the cafeteria. She was glad that she had been left alone to her task without having Luna standing over her shoulder like she had the night after the fall formal. After emptying the bucket of water down one of the sinks she headed back toward the office.

"I'm done with the tables. What else do I need to do?" she asked, causing Luna to look up.

"Before I answer that, how are you holding up? Is your back hurting much?"

The question surprised by the question, though she just shrugged her response.

"My back stings some but it doesn't really bother me." She answered honestly, rolling her shoulders as if to prove a point, wincing slightly at the motion.

"Well… I think you're done for the day. Go ask Tia if she needs anything and if not you're free to go."


	13. Chapter 13

Sunset sighed as she walked into the large room, hearing the squawk of Celestia's macaw coming from its perch in the living room. Sighing Sunset headed toward the stairs, ignoring the massive bird as she walked into her room and shut the door.

She sighed as she glanced around her at the boxes that littered the room. She knew that she probably should at least unpack some of her stuff but that little voice at the back of her mind asked: "what if you screw things up and have to leave here too?"

Sighing she sank down onto her bed, grabbing one of the pillows and wrapping her arms around it. She thought about texting someone to see if they had time to talk but she didn't want to be a bother, besides they probably had more important things to do than talk to the girl who made their lives a living hell.

 _The girls are only friendly toward me because of Princess Twilight, Ditzy is friendly toward everyone and Trixie...well she probably will stab me in the back if I give her a chance to. Not to mention I am a charity case for Principal Celestia and I know Luna doesn't like me._

She felt the familiar sting of loneliness, a feeling that she was very familiar with from her foal-hood though unlike before when her studies with Princess Celestia or even when she was trying to rule the school she had nothing to distract herself.

 _I hate my life. Why didn't I try to figure out another way to not be alone? I just had to try to take the power I thought I had earned...I thought that if I was Celestia's equal that she would finally…_

Throwing her pillow at the door she felt like she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs although a knot formed in her throat as if she would cry.

" _ **We have to stay professional Sunset, besides you have parents."**_

The words seemed to mock her, cutting the initial thought off.

 _A random pony got to call you her aunt but I couldn't even get that._

Sunset thought, glancing at the book that had her Cutie Mark on the cover.

 _Not that you ever asked me why I never wanted to go home for hearth's warming. Did it ever occur to you that my parents sucked? That I always felt judged or ignored? Did you ever think that when I asked you_ _ **that question**_ _that I already saw you as more than my teacher? Did it ever dawn on you that the reason I didn't make friends was that I honestly felt like no one would want me around so I was saving myself the heartache?_

She felt like an idiot for letting her thoughts upset her, though she couldn't keep the wave of sadness at bay as the memories threatened to consume her. Making a snap decision Sunset got to her feet, grabbing some cash from a purse that hung on the back of the desk chair before heading downstairs.

 _I know I was supposed to get some rest but I need to clear my head. I would rather deal with a disappointed teacher than what I'm feeling._

* * *

It was late, later than she had meant to stay out though she found herself wandering aimlessly around town. She saw graffiti decorating some buildings, bright words against the dark brick. She couldn't help but stop and stare at some of the more complicated patterns.

"Hey, kid are you okay?"

A gruff female voice called, prompting Sunset to glare over at her.

"For one I'm not a kid, for two I am fine." The redhead responded curtly, earning a scoff from the leather-clad figure that was approaching her.

"You're what? A high school sophomore at most?"

Sunset recognized the girl's tone as the same kind of condescending one that she would have used just mere weeks before. She chose to ignore the comment, though when she heard the sound of heavy military boots on the ground behind her she whirled around, ready to defend herself.

"Whoa, easy bacon hair. I'm not looking for a fight, a matter of fact I am looking for my brother's damn cat."

As the dark figure stepped closer Sunset could see just what exactly she looked like. She was a foot taller than Sunset with raspberry colored skin though what stood out the most about this strange girl was the scar that ran over her left eye.

Sunset wanted to say something but the rather intimidating girl spoke again

"So what's someone like you doing out this late?"

"Why should I answer you?"

Sunset snapped in response, earning a scoff of amusement from the older girl.

"Because otherwise, you're standing there staring at a wall like an idiot? I mean, the painting isn't bad if I do say so myself _but_ you act like you've never seen paintings before!"

Sunset blushed a bit at the response then it dawned on her what the girl had even said.

"Wait! You did this?"

"Yeah...the symbol represents my...well gang I guess you could say. Don't worry, I'm not going to mug you or something."

Sunset was at a lost for words, however then a small grey and white kitten suddenly came out of the alley, earning a groan from the dark-skinned girl.

"there you are! I swear I'm going to kill Capper for leaving the window open!"

Sunset hid her amusement when she heard this though she kind of wanted to laugh at how ironic that the gruff girl talking in an almost babyish tone to the cat was.

"Well, I gotta go. I don't want to piss off Celaeno by coming in late. Maybe I 'll see you around."

Sunset glanced at her phone and sighed.

"Yeah, I better go too. I'm in enough trouble the way it is."

* * *

 **A\N: Obvious who this new character is that Sunset just ran into. Question is, how much trouble will this newcomer cause?**

 **Also, this is obviously an AU that kind of fills in the blank between the first two films. Let me know if you want me to include the whole Anon-a-miss thing or not.**


	14. Chapter 14

Sunset felt as if her brain would melt as she waited for Applejack to pick her up. She sat on the steps of the front porch, earphones plugged in as she tried to blast away the nervousness with music, though it did not help very much. As a matter of fact, she had been so lost in thought that she didn't even notice the approaching footsteps until a hand touched her shoulder, startling her.

"Sorry, I guess I was kinda zoned out there." Sunset said, pausing her music and removing her headphones before turning her attention to the principal who smiled knowingly.

"Nervous about tonight?" Celestia guessed, motioning for Sunset to make room for her to sit down next to her.

"Yeah, I mean...I have never done this sort of thing before, as a filly, I was too busy studying and trying to be the best." Sunset confessed, glancing down at her phone again before adding "I guess I just don't know what to do or expect really."

"Is that all that is bothering you? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Celestia pressed gently, hoping that she wasn't overstepping any boundaries with the girl, who was still rather distant with her.

"do you think they actually want me around or am I just some kind of charity case? I mean, don't get me wrong...You have been really kind to me and I'm grateful but...all this just seems so strange to me after everything I did."

When no response came Sunset was afraid she had offended the woman, though she didn't dare to actually look up to see if she had. However, after a few minutes, Celestia spoke up in the usual gentle tone "I understand but I doubt any of those girls would just try to befriend you because someone told them to, especially Applejack and Rainbow Dash."

Sunset wanted to argue, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. She sighed as she sat there, idly tapping on the screen despite not paying attention to what exactly she was doing.

"Maybe you're right. I guess I have a lot of what-ifs running through my head." Sunset said after a while, breaking the easy silence that had fallen over them.

"Which is understandable, just try to have fun and not worry too much. I'm sure you'll be fine."

Sunset blushed as she found herself pulled against Celestia's side. She wasn't sure exactly what to do but felt as if she should do something. Timidly returning the hug as she responded softly "Thanks."

* * *

"When Ya said the big white house on the left I wasn't expecting it to be this big!" Applejack commented as Sunset climbed into the bed of Applejack's truck. She couldn't help but wonder if this was very safe but no one else seemed worried so she didn't ask.

"Who did you move in with anyway? That house is awesome!" Rainbow said, causing Sunset to blush.

"I'm not sure if I am supposed to say." she replied, glancing away.

"But we're your friends aren't we?"

"Yeah! What's the big deal? Did you land yourself a rich sugar daddy or something?"

Sunset glared at Rainbow when she heard that, trying not to seem too grossed out by that thought.

" Eww Rainbow Dash just eww. No, I assure you it is _nothing_ of that nature!"


	15. Chapter 15

**this chapter is dedicated to jackster pearl since he gave me the idea for the flour bomb thing.**

Sunset knew that school was going to suck the following Monday when she woke up to see a thunderstorm raging outside. She could smell Celestia cooking breakfast downstairs, making her glad that she had agreed to ride with Celestia.

"Morning." she grumbled as she walked downstairs, her hair still a mess from sleep and still wearing her pajamas. Making a beeline for the coffee pot she barely registered Celestia's greeting.

"No nightmares?" Celestia questioned as she put a plate of food in front of Sunset, who had slumped down into a chair at the kitchen table.

"No, but then again I was practically dead from Saturday. Who knew Pinkie could manage to keep everyone up until daybreak?" Sunset answered, draining her cup before returning to the counter for refills.

"will you please eat something solid besides drinking a ton of that stuff? You skipped dinner last night."

Sunset mentally groaned as she heard the worry in her teacher's voice. "I overdid it on junk food at Sweet Apple Acres Saturday night and I will eat in a second, As soon as I can wake my brain up." she responded.

"Okay miss moody, just be sure you eat something." Celestia answered, earning a sigh and a sarcastic response that sounded a lot yes mother.

After managing to force herself to eat, despite not exactly being a breakfast person, Sunset headed upstairs to get ready for the day.

 _Why am I even trying? I should just move to another school...plus I planned on being in Equestria by this time. Ugh, what's wrong with me? Why am I so darn moody?_

Her mood didn't improve when she got to school, especially when everyone was either staring at her making a point to turn their backs to her as she passed them. As she walked toward her locker, Hateful graffiti standing out on the green surface.

"What the heck is a whorse?"

Turning toward the sudden voice Sunset tried not to roll her eyes as she saw Trixie standing there.

"A bad pun. Nevermind."

Trixie hadn't really believed Sunset was trying to change until she saw her crying in the storage room. Even now, Sunset seemed deflated, as if the words were adding weight to her.

"Come on, I'll walk you to class."

Sunset was surprised by this, having not expected Trixie to actually mean anything she had said the week before.

"Thanks."

As they walked toward the stairs something suddenly fell onto Sunset, covering her in a white powder and staining her clothing.

"What the hell?"

Sunset yelped, glaring up at the fleeing figures. She could hear Trixie giggling.

"What? Did you have something to do with this?" she demanded, earning a shocked look.

"What? No! But you just look ridiculous!"

With that Trixie retorted, putting her phone on camera and turning it toward Sunset. She was covered on one side of her head and face with white power, a stark contrast to the natural color of her skin.

"I don't care if I am late...I am not going to class looking like this." she commented storming off toward the bathroom, surprised when Trixie followed her.

"Here, Trixie will help. Believe it or not, Trixie knows how to deal with this from experience."

Sunset was about to comment but stopped herself, knowing that she probably would come across as a jackass at that point. "Thanks, but you better get to class. I don't want you to get detention because of me."

Trixie seemed deep in thought at that before she said: "Trixie will be right back."

She returned a few minutes later with Vice Principal Luna in tow, the woman looking a bit annoyed when she saw the state Sunset was in.

"If you find out who did this let me know, Miss Lulamoon. Now you best be getting to class, I'll help miss Shimmer." Luna stated.

Sunset removed her jacket, shaking off the flour while Luna was talking, grumbling under her breath as she thought of all the forms of revenge that she could take against whoever did this.

"The resource center probably has clothes that will fit you."

Luna commented as she came over to her, sighing as she saw the damage done.

"No thanks, I think my jacket got the worse of it. But can I use the locker rooms to take a show? I don't think I can get all this crap out of my hair otherwise." Sunset answered, earning a nod.

"Alright but come by my office after you're done so I can write a note for whatever classes you miss. I'll check the surveillance tapes and see if I can figure out who threw that on you...Plus they need to sweep up the mess it made in the hall."

* * *

Sunset sighed as she leaned against the wall, letting the hot water beat down on her. She was grateful that no one was using the gym during that period or else she would have to deal with even more people. She tried to ignore the sting in her back due to the soap running across her skin, making her wonder how deep those wounds had been since some places were still very tender.

She didn't hear the door open or hear the sound of sneakers behind her until she felt something fall on her from above the half wall that separated the showers from the rest of the room. Whirling around she felt her face flush, though she saw no one there.

"What the…?"

Reaching up she felt something wet, thick and gooey on her hair. _Please don't be paint or worse._ She thought though as she examined the liquid she saw that it was just a floral scented shower gel.

"Great, Now I have to rinse…. _again."_

She grumbled, stepping back under the brunt of the spray with a hiss. It was as cold as ice suddenly! Stepping back with a muttered curse she grabbed a towel from the nearby rack and stormed out, only to hear laughter from the far end of the room.

"Sorry, couldn't resist. What are you doing in here anyway?"

Sunset relaxed as she heard the familiar voice.

"Two words: Flour bomb. Look at my jacket and skirt! I'm just glad Luna let me wash the rest of that off!" she retorted as Rainbow Dash finally approached her.

"Ouch. Hang on, Rarity keeps extra clothes in her locker. I think I can find you something to wear. I turned the hot water back on by the way."

When Rainbow returned Sunset was finally finished with the shower and was partially dressed. "Here, she said something about these bringing out the color of your eyes or some shit."

Sunset sighed as she saw that the shirt in question was one of a sparkling pink with a golden trim, though the jeans that went with them was black.

"This is more….elegant than I'm used to." Sunset commented as she started to dress, not really caring that Rainbow was still standing there.

"Elegant? Try frou-frou! But that is who Rarity is I guess. She learned a long time ago not to try to get me into anything too frilly." Rainbow commented, wincing as she caught sight of Sunset's back as the redhead pulled on her shirt.

 _That has got to hurt! I mean I've seen deep tissue bruises and puncture wounds caused by cleats and Sunset's back is worse than that!_

Rainbow thought then inwardly sighed.

"Here, I'll walk you back to class or wherever. I'm just supposed to be airing up the balls for tonight's game. I can spare the time to walk one of my friends to class."


	16. Chapter 16

**The chapter dedicated to Elliot and the guest reviewer who suggested to have people throw eggs or pies at Sunset and have Sunset and Rainbow switch clothes.**

"I can't believe Flash's band buddies would do something as petty as that!"

Sunset sighed as she leaned against the base of the statue, closing her eyes. It was break and she didn't feel like doing much of anything, though the girls had tried to get her involved with their plans for the evening.

"I used Flash, what do you expect?" She replied with a sigh. Just remembering how awful that she had been hurt, how could she have allowed herself to stoop so low? To use everyone like they were nothing?

"You had to feel something for him. Everyone heard about how he better watch out because he made the Alpha bitch cry...er...No offense." Rainbow stated, prompting Sunset to open one eye to look at her.

"None taken and I doubt I felt anything for anyone. I didn't know what love was. I was so bitter and...angry. I felt no other emotion." Sunset retorted, earning a scoff.

"Oh please, everyone knew ya were jealous of Rarity! Besides that, the first year ya won the fall formal ya burst into tears!"

Sunset felt her cheeks grow hot at the mention of the dance, though she didn't open her eyes to regard the country girl who had spoken. "Can we please not talk about that? Or _any_ dance for that matter?"

"Sorry, Sugarcube. I was just trying to make a point."

Sunset only nodded as she stood up and walked off without another word. She needed to be alone for a while, however, as she walked toward the building something suddenly hit her, stinging her eyes and coating her in a sticky substance, making her glad she had forgotten her jacket in her locker.

She felt a hand grab her arm next, causing her to brace herself to be either hit or shoved until she heard a male voice say: "Jeez...I thought everyone was exaggerating when they said people were out to get you."

"Holy crap, Soarin take her inside and tell Celestia what happened. I have some extra clothes in my gym locker she can borrow. Pinkie and Rarity are going to go see if they can figure out who did this. A.J is going to get someone to check surveillance since no one is in Cheerilee's class this period so someone had to sneak in."

* * *

Sunset could feel the egg drying on her as she walked into the school building, lead by Soarin, who practically glared at anyone they passed as if daring them to laugh. Though Sunset could feel random objects pelting her back as she walked by.

"No one wants you here! Why don't you take a hint and leave!"

"No one likes you! Everyone who's nice to you only does it out of pity!"

"Who would like a demon?"

She was fighting tears by the time she got to the front office.

"We need to see one of the principals. I don't care which one!" Soarin stated to the secretary just as a booming female voice shouted down the hall for everyone to shut up. When Celestia came out to see what the commotion was she froze, seeing Sunset in the state she was in.

"Soarin, have Spitfire or Coach Ironwill to open the locker rooms. Sunset, when you're done come back here." Celesa ordered just as Applejack and Luna walked into the foyer pushing three younger students along in front of them.

"Before ya go Sunset, these three have somethin' they want to say to ya."

* * *

"Remind me again why you wear shorts this tight under a skirt?" she grumbled as she tugged at the spandex like material though Rainbow just chuckled.

"I'm not exactly comfortable in short skirts and I happen to like the look thank you."

They were sitting in the locker room, Rainbow having borrowed Rarity's blow dryer and helping Sunset fix her hair, which had fluffed out since it had been washed twice in one day.

"Thanks again for letting me borrow your clothes...I kind of wish I didn't have to borrow so much off of people. Rarity probably hates me for getting her clothes ruined!"

"No, but Rares is hella mad at Sweetie bell right now and not because of the shirt! Hell, even I'm mad at those kids for doin' this to you!" Rainbow stated as she finished putting Sunset's hair up into a ponytail.

"There, now we better get you back to Celestia. I think that was the only time I have seen that woman anything other than very annoyed."

"Good. Maybe she'll let me go home and get away from this place for a while."


	17. Chapter 17

Sunset sighed as she walked toward the faculty parking lot. She just wanted to go home, she just wanted to go home and sleep, to escape for the horror that was her day for a while. As she walked past the lunch area she suddenly found herself covered once again by some sort of substance.

"Oh come on! Give me a damn break!" She yelled, ignoring the laughter that she heard as she stormed toward Celestia's car. _This is going to take forever to get out of my hair….ugh...what even is this? The soup from today's lunch?_ She thought with a grimace just as removed what she assumed was a piece of carrot from her hair.

"My jacket is ruined….I have been covered in all matter of shit and I have missed half of my classes! Can this day get any worse!" she yelled, kicking the car tire just as Celestia walked out, pausing as she saw the state that Sunset was in.

"I don't think I would tempt fate." Celestia commented, earning a glare from the red-haired girl who crossed her arms with a pout.

"Yeah well, I don't know how it could get worse!" sunset snapped, removing her jacket and shaking as much of the soup off of it as possible "do you have a bag or something I can shove this in? I don't want to mess up your car."

"Don't worry about it, trust me it can not be worse than hauling around a drunk Luna!"

Sunset blinked in surprise at that. "Wait What? Okay, it's weird imagining her even thinking about something like that….she's always so…" Sunset trailed off, earning a smirk from Celestia.

"Uptight?"

"I was going to say serious but that works."

Celestia couldn't help but worry as she drove Sunset home, noticing how the girl seemed locked in her own thoughts. She had tried to get the girl to at least talk but nothing seemed to work and as soon as they got to their destination Sunset disappeared upstairs and locked herself in the bathroom or hours.

When she came downstairs her eyes were red and swollen from crying. She looked like a completely different person as she walked in, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped.

"First they pour all matter of…. _food….._ all over me and now they are posting the shit online!" Sunset ranted as she collapsed onto the couch, head buried in her hands. "I wish that I never had a mystable account! I have gotten called everything in this universe and possibly the next!"

Celestia moved to sit beside of her, a hand moving to stroke the teen's hair. She knew there was nothing she could say that would help sooth the girl but she hated seeing her this upset.

"Things will work out." she tried to encourage the girl, who turned to glare at her although the look came out more of an irritated pout.

"I highly doubt that Celestia." Sunset retorted, closing her eyes as she relaxed into the touch.

"Sorry about the soup in your car and...well showing up in your office thrice today." She added, the emotions from the day's events draining away to leave her mentally exhausted.

"I'm just glad you're alright. I'll run your clothes through the was and I took the liberty to wash your jacket as well and yes, I know how to clean leather."


	18. Chapter 18

" _Who would like a demon?"_

The words echoed in her mind as she sat alone in her room, the dust-covered journal from Equestria sitting on the bed in front of her, unopened. She couldn't help but wonder if they were right, that the reason why no one ever cared had been because they could sense the demon inside of her?

" _Tonight you showed what is in your heart."_

 _Am I really a monster? Is that why my parents were always so distant? Is that why...the Princess…started avoiding me? Is that why she would let me learn more?_ Her thoughts turned on the same thing she had wondered since the night of the dance though as she sat there she couldn't help to begin to wonder just how right the other students could be.

 _Are they right? Is all of this pity?_

She thought, throwing the book across the room, where it landed with a thud. Pulling her knees to her chest she tried not to cry as memories overtook her.

" **Sunset Shimmer! Pull yourself together! Your mother and I both went to Celestia's school! You will never become anything if you keep acting like some kind of scared commoner!"**

 **A mustard colored blank flanked filly stopped mid-pace across the elegant tile floor, ears pinning at the stern voice of her father.**

" **But what if I'm not good enough?"**

 **She questioned, earning a scoff from her mother who rolled her eyes.**

" **That isn't an option and you know that Sunset Shimmer."**

Closing her eyes she tried to fight back tears as she remembered the events of that day and how she had gotten her cutie mark, to begin with. A symbol she now was ashamed of.

 **On shaking hooves, she stepped into the room with her parents when her name was called. There were four judges seated behind a long desk, along with the Princess who sat at the far end of the table.**

" **The first task is to make this sprout to grow into a flower in an instant. You have ten minutes." a male judge stated in a bored tone as she walked up to the marked area in front of a lone desk holding a single, tiny flower pot.**

 _ **Come on Sunset Shimmer...You can do it. Just imagine a big sunflower…and focus the image and blast at the sprout.**_

 **She thought as she summoned her mana into her horn, sending a flash of bluish light at the plant. Sunset's heart had filled with terror and embarrassments the plant suddenly began to grow rapidly, bursting from the pot and continuing to grow until it burst half across the room and through the roof.**

" **Look at this mess! What the Tartarus was that?"**

 **She heard her father yelled and heard the sound of his hoofsteps coming up behind her. However, she was more concerned by the princess who now had stood, golden magic shrinking the monstrous plant before the sovereign turned toward her.**

" **Sunset Shimmer…" Princess Celestia had begun, her voice soft and warm despite the events that had just happened, however suddenly a rough hoof from behind forced Sunset onto her knees and forelegs.**

" **I am sorry about the mess my daughter made your majesty. I will see to it that she will be severely punished for…" her father had begun and Sunset knew exactly what would happen to her once they got home after humiliating them like this. However, Celestia cut him off before he could continue.**

" **There is no need for that," She began and Sunset couldn't help but begin to tremble slightly.** _ **Here it comes, I'm going to be sent to Tartarus or locked in a dungeon or banished to another planet or world.**_ **She thought not daring to look up as golden shoes came to rest in front of her.**

" **Your daughter has displayed a very strong, natural ability with magic." Celestia continued, prompting Sunset to risk a glance up only to see that the princess was smiling "I would like to take her on as my own personal student."**

" **What?"**

 **Sunset's parents had burst out before her mother had promptly fainted at the news.**

" **I would think you should be very proud of your daughter's natural talent. I have not seen a unicorn with that much power in a very long time. Plus, I think the little one did something even more impressive today as well."**

 **It was Sunset's turn to speak as she finally looked up, her father having left her to tend to his wife.**

" **What do you mean ma'am? All I did was accidentally make a mess."**

 **She had asked though Celestia just chuckled and replied with a point of her hoof.**

" **You might want to look at your flank."**

" **Wha? My cutie mark!"**

Sunset smiled in spite of herself. In those moments she had seen more pride directed at her from Celestia than she had ever seen from her parents in her whole, short life. Her parents hadn't even cared that she had found her talent. They had just left shortly after with the promise of sending her all of her things to her from home.

"why did I have to fuck everything up? Why did I have to run away like a spoiled brat then return only to steal the crown?" she thought as sobs begin to wreck her body. She didn't want to admit it but she missed the princess, she missed _home_ or at least that's how she remembered Canterlot Castle.

She didn't even realize that she was crying or that anyone had come into the room until she felt someone sit down beside of her.

"What is this?"

Celestia's voice made her look up, seeing the journal within the principal's hands.

"It was how I could communicate with the princess when she was away." Sunset answered honestly, earning a nod as her guardian put the object on the bedside table.

"I see," Celestia began as she turned her full attention to Her ward "so want to tell me what has gotten you so upset?"

One part of Sunset wanted to tell her it wasn't any of her business, another wanted to tell her everything. But instead of either, she said nothing and instead turned away, hiding her face in a pillow.

"Let me guess, you were looking at the book and it brought back memories? Maybe made you a little homesick?" Celestia could easily put two and two together as she ran a hand through Sunset's hair, feeling the girl stiffen as soon as she had spoken.

"Just leave me alone! No one asked you to come in here! I didn't ask for your pity!" Sunset's muffled outburst shocked Celestia a bit, but she didn't move.

"Alright. But only if you tell me why you think that I pity you." She responded, earning a huff of annoyance from the teen.

"Why else would anyone want to be around a monster?"

She didn't expect what Celestia said next, forcing Sunset to sit up and look at her. Celestia's expression was stern, though not unfriendly as she spoke.

"Sunset Shimmer, let me set one thing straight right now. You are not a monster, I don't know why you think you are but a monster wouldn't feel so guilty that they find it hard to function. A monster wouldn't feel regret at all."

Sunset cut her off then, jerking away from her as she looked away.

"But I tried to kill…"

"You were not in complete control of that demon and you have told me that. Now answer me this, here and now...if you were given the chance would you do any of what you did in the past again?" Celestia inquired, knowing she was being a bit heavy handed but Sunset needed it, at least at that moment.

"Of course not! I...I don't want to be a monster. I just never knew there was another way...that I could have reached my goals any other way besides being an an...demon bitch." Sunset answered, silently shaking with emotion now.

"Stop degrading yourself. You may have had deplorable behavior in the past but I won't stand for you talking down about yourself. Now please tell me what is really bothering you, I really do hate seeing you this upset."

"I guess that I did get lost in thought and it lead me back to some rather… unpleasant memories." she answered honestly before adding in a whisper "sorry for being so...rude. I've never been good with my emotions."

To her surprise Sunset found herself being pulled into a hug.

"I understand and it's okay Sunset, I forgive you."

"I don't know how _anyon_ e could say that. I was awful and I conned my way into practically everything. I lied to you, and everybody else!" Sunset said bitterly, half expecting the woman to pull away or become angry or something.

"Well, with everything that happened I don't think that it would be fair that I held that over your head. How I see it you're already punished enough." Celestia replied simply before adding "come on, go change into some regular clothes and wash your face. We're going out."

That got Sunset's attention. "Wait, what? Where are we going?"

Celestia just smirked, her eyes twinkling slightly as she answered: "you'll see."

* * *

Appplejack sighed as she lay on her bed, scrolling through her my stable account on her phone when she came across a link to another social media website, the comment above the link reading: Who Knew the demon would return so soon? Maybe someone needs to actually shut her up forcefully.

"What the hay?" Applejack muttered, clicking the link to see that it brought up a link to an account called Anon-a-miss, which had a pattern to it in a fiery pattern. The post in question was a picture of Rarity wearing a punch soaked dress. The picture from the previous year's spring fling.

* * *

 **author's note: I will be using your suggestions in the next chapter. I just had to do something to build up to it. Also, Anon-a-miss won't be exactly the same as it was in the comics. You will see what I mean if you are familiar with the comics.**


	19. Chapter 19

**This chapter is dedicated to Windiken, Kyle, and David who gave me the idea for this chapter.**

To say that Sunset was confused when she got to school the next day was an understatement. Especially when she was suddenly shoved down into a large puddle, staring up into anger filled eyes. She could feel the mud seeping into her jeans and soaking her through, including her jacket which would probably be completely ruined now since leather wasn't exactly the most washable of fabric.

"How could you post all that online!?"

Sunset blinked in surprise at the accusation." _wha..what are you talking about?"_ she asked, trying to figure out just what the boyish preteen in front of her was accusing her of.

"Don't play dumb! The pictures of Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire!"

 _Spitfire? What in the Tartarus is she talking about? I made_ _ **that mistake once freshman year **__and got my butt handed to me! Who would have that big of a death wish?_

"Scootaloo! What the heck is going on?"

Sunset felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as Rainbow Dash came over, her eyes scanning the scene before she held a hand out to Sunset.

"She's Anon-A-Miss! Did you not see the setup on the webpage? It even had a symbol similar to the one she has embroidered on her backpack and shirt!" Scootaloo stated, earning a scoff and eye roll from the blue-skinned athlete.

"Says the person who dropped eggs on her yesterday! What the hell is going on in your head lately kid?" Rainbow retorted, only for the younger girl to shove a phone into her face.

Rainbow groaned aloud as she saw the photo on the screen, facepalming.

"Great, now I've gotta deal with more bad jokes than I can deal with." She stated, making an effort to keep the phone out of Sunset's line of sight before adding "but sunset didn't take that picture. That was taken at the game last night, in the locker room and Sunset was at the animal shelter because Fluttershy was practically gushing about helping her pick out a pet over text...complete with pictures."

Scootaloo instantly blushed and looked down, though not quickly enough that Sunset didn't see the flash of fear come over her face.

"Sorry Sunset."

"I forgive you...but just what is Anon-A-miss exactly?" Sunset replied, shoving back the hurt feelings at least for a moment as she tried to look over Rainbow's shoulder, only to find a picture of Trixie covered in soot and smoke on the screen.

"it's a gossip column type thing. Kind of like the burn book on that one movie I am sure Rarity and Pinkie will force you into watching at some point. the only difference really is that this one seems to be set up to make people believe it's _**you**_." Rainbow answered with a shrug before adding "We'd better go get you some clean clothes and then meet up with the others."

* * *

"Oh man...How did they find out about that? Ah mean seriously, Ah fell off a damn horse at a junior horse show! It's not like Ah rolled in manure!"

"Well, at least you were in what? Sixth grade when that happened? This photo of me was of the most humiliating night of my entire life!"

"I see you have seen this Anon-whatever shit too." Rainbow dash called as she and Sunset walked over to where the group stood in the hall, phones in hand.

"Nice picture of ya and Spitfire, Ah can only imagine what Gilda will say when she gets wind of this one!" AJ teased, earning a glare from Rainbow Dash who crossed her arms over her chest.

"Says the girl who turned down the most popular boy in twelfth grade! At least I can have a relationship!" Rainbow quipped, this whole thing confusing Sunset to no end.

"Can someone please explain what the heck is going on? Or rather what the hell those two are talking about?" the redhead finally asked, earning a sigh from Rarity.

"They're just being themselves. You'll get used to it Darling."


	20. Chapter 20

"The real Sunset is showing her face!"

"I knew she didn't really change!"

"How could she do this? I never bothered her!"

"That stupid bitch is gonna pay for announcing that to the whole world!"

Sunset could hear the voices echoing through the halls as she hauled another wheelbarrow of bricks over to the construction site. It surprised her how the workers didn't seem to judge her or treat her coldly although a few had children that went to school with her that she had targeted at one point or another.

Her back still slightly stung but it was at no risk of breaking open if the only thing she did was play supply runner for the crew. She also knew that this was Luna's way of keeping her away from most of the masses, especially since she had been quite literally shoved into a garbage can at one point before her third-period class.

"You holding up alright there kid?" the foreman Steel called from where he sat on a high support beam, wiping sweat from his light grey skin.

"Yeah." She called back before taking a seat on a stack of boards while two workers loaded more bricks. This, of course, gave her a bit of a break since she had been forbidden to do any real lifting.

"It's nearly twelve o'clock little lady. You probably should head on back inside and get lunch." one of the workers, a tall tan-skinned guy said as he leaned against the shovel he was using.

"I'm supposed to be helping." Sunset replied, earning an eye roll from the young man.

"Yeah, and you've been working your tail off for three hours plus aren't you injured? You need a break before you hurt yourself and I don't intend on being the one explaining you ended up in the ER or something."

She was about to argue with him but he just walked away, taking the wheelbarrow with him, calling over his shoulder "No arguing this time Red!"

"Ugh! For the fifteenth time, my name is not Red!"

The man smirked then, chuckling as he continued to walk away

"Alright then Fireball. Whatever you say."

Luna could have laughed when Sunset came storming in, mumbling under her breath about something although the only thing that she could make out was the word infuriating. She tried not to seem too amused by the teen, though she couldn't help but feel some at the sight of the former bully sitting down in an irritated huff that reminded her more of a small child than a teenager.

"are you okay Sunset?" she asked, earning a glare from the sixteen-year-old.

"I refuse to work with the jackass wearing the black and red baseball cap!" Sunset responded, though Luna just chuckled.

"He's only teasing you, besides I know you can think of something more suitable to call him besides using that kind of language."

Sunset had expected to be told off for her choice of wording but Luna's almost friendly chide caught her off guard. _Wait? Is she not going to go all bad cop on me? And is she actually smiling?_

"Fine, he's an odious simpleton then."

Luna arched a brow at the girl before replying "you are the first teenager I have ever met who knew what odious even meant. Maybe if you call him that tomorrow he'll be too shocked to speak."

"Do you think I can go to my art class? I already got done for the day." Sunset asked after a while, glancing at the clock nervously as Luna looked up from her papers.

"Do you think you'll be safe to do so with everything that happened at the dance and then this mystable and kicker accounts pretending to be you?" Luna replied, causing her to glance down and bite her lip.

"I think I would be." Sunset answered, the harsh words of half of the student body beginning to fill her mind. Luna noticed the girl's demeanor change and sighed as she got up, walking over and kneeling in front of her.

"Today has been a hard day for you, hasn't it? Want to talk about it?"

Luna inwardly sighed, she had promised that no matter what she would remain stern with the girl but it was hard to maintain that persona when the target was a depressed teenage girl.

"It's not fair! I am trying to change but everyone either thinks the worst of me already or is making it seem like I am still the worst!" Sunset burst out, the tears that had been threatening under the surface since she had been shoved by Scootaloo that morning came rushing to the surface.

Luna sighed as she pulled the girl into a hug, not saying a word for some time. She knew that it was hard for Sunset, that it hurt to have to face the hateful words. Sunset had been terrible at one point, Luna would admit but no one deserved to be ostracized like this.

"But you have people who _do_ believe you have changed. I saw how Trixie Lulamoon helped you pick up your books today when Thunderlane tripped you. These things take time _but_ the small victories are just as important as the big ones, remember that."


	21. Chapter 21

"To be honest I am worried about her. I'm just glad that some of the students seem to not believe that this anon-a-miss character is her plus Steel and his crew, as irritating as they seem to her actually are _trying_ to make things easy on her." Luna stated as she leaned against Celestia's desk.

If it had been even a week before Luna wouldn't have been so worried about the confident, egoistic teen but now Sunset seemed to be a shell of her former self, rather it was from the emotional distress or a side effect of the rainbow blast.

"Keep an eye on her, I know we can't lessen the penalties we put on her but I can't help but worry that she will injure herself out there but this is the only way that we can minimize her interaction with other students until the hostility lessens."

Celestia listened to Luna's concerns, which mirrored her own. She was just about to say something when the door to her office slammed shut and Sunset stormed in, drenched in green paint and looking rather angry.

"What happened this time?" Celestia asked, eyes widening as the girl walked past toward the private bathroom inside Celestia's office, pausing only to answer between clenched teeth

"Oh, I am sure you'll get a phone call soon enough."

The two sisters exchanged looks at that before Luna held up her hands in surrender " _whatever_ she did you get to handle it. _You_ live with her."

Celestia sighed just as the phone rang, pinching the bridge of her nose as she picked up the receiver _you just have to be a mercurial person don't you, Sunset Shimmer?_ She thought.

"What happened?" Celestia asked calmly as soon as Sunset came out of the bathroom, dripping wet from where she had washed off most of the paint in the sink. Celestia could see Sunset practically deflate at the question.

"Thunderlane threw paint all over me and I lost my temper and may have…" sunset began, looking away from the principal who just responded with: "overreacted?"

Sunset nodded at that and added in a small voice "I swear I didn't mean to punch him."

She didn't dare to make eye contact with Celestia, afraid to just know how much anger would be in her mentor's violet eyes.

"I can't overlook the fact that you hit a student. However, I think having you help out a bit more after school for the next three days would suffice since you seem repentant though I do want you to publicly apologize to him and know that he will not get away with the paint incident." Celestia said after a while.

Sunset risked looking up then, though she glanced down an instant later unable to make eye contact.

"Yes, ma'am."

Sunset heard the sound of Celestia's chair scooting away from the desk followed by the sound of approaching footfall.

"Sunset, change isn't easy. It doesn't excuse any, should we say misbehavior. However, I do understand that this is hard for you." Celestia said, brushing a strand of hair out of the teen's face before she added: "we'll talk more about this at home okay?"

Sunset nodded in understanding, a knot forming in her throat as she thought about the implications of that sentence. _Is she going to kick me out? What if I just...messed up too much? What if she has given up on me?_

She felt as if her heart was going to bolt out of her chest at that. She felt as if she was lost all over again. She felt like she was going to be sick or burst into tears and she didn't know which one that would actually happen if she lost any more control of herself.

 _It's just like before...I keep fucking up. No wonder no one ever really wanted me around. I am the worse being in existence!_

"I'm sorry Miss. Celestia." she muttered before hastily leaving the room, brushing past Celestia.

"Well, she left like a bat out of hell. What did you do to her?"

Luna asked, having nearly been crashed into by the teen on her way back into the front office.

"I really don't know. Sometimes I wish I could see what that girl is thinking. You should see her at times, I never thought I would ever see her that broken, not to mention she has night terrors and right then, she looked almost terrified of me."

Luna walked over to the older woman, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Sunset needs guidance, Patience, affection and even discipline. I honestly think the girl _needs_ positive interaction. That day while I was treating her injuries she said something that concerned me...she thought I was trying to punish her or something and today, she practically broke down about how nothing was fair."


	22. Chapter 22

"Man I would have totally kicked his ass if I was in your shoes!" Rainbow Dash commented, earning a surprised look from the fiery-haired teen.

"What? You're not going to say how I totally messed up? That I was still like that demon?" Sunset stated sarcastically, earning a look from all of the girls.

"No, I think most people would be pretty angry." Rarity replied, reaching over to squeeze Sunset's hand. "Don't worry too much darling. Things will get easier."

Sunset slumped even farther "yeah but my foster mom is going to kill me."

She blushed as she realized what she had said and let her head drop onto the table "great, and I have no idea how she'll feel about me calling her that either! Ugh! I keep fucking everything up!"

"Ah think you're being too hard on yourself sugar cube. Besides that, you told us how kind she was to ya, Ah doubt that she'll let little slip-ups ruin y'all's budding relationship." Applejack assured her softly "besides, Ah doubt she will mind that ya think of her as a foster parent. Heck, you've been alone for so long I am sure she will understand."

"Thanks, guys. I guess I am kind of overthinking aren't I?"

No matter whatever reassuring words her new friends had spoken to her, Sunset found herself practically shaking when she walked closer to the large, white house. _get it together Sunset Shimmer! It won't be that bad. She wasn't angry earlier today, she's not going to suddenly start yelling or something._

"I'm home." She announced as she let herself in, her heart hammering in her ears as she walked into the living room where Celestia sat.

"Did you have any more problems today?" Celestia asked, brow furrowing in concern as she took in the sight of grass stains on Sunset's jeans. _Had someone pushed her? Had she re-injured herself?_

"Uh no. I may have managed to trip on a well-hidden baseball while picking up litter around the parking lot." Sunset answered, blushing as she rubbed the back of her neck as she added: "besides a bruised knee and a broken dignity I'm alright though so it's not big deal."

Celestia allowed a sigh of relief before she spoke again, her tone still having a friendly tone "come on, let's go have dinner. You must be famished."

After dinner Celestia took a seat beside Sunset on the sofa, noticing how the girl flinched almost instinctively. " I guess you realize we need to talk about what happened today."

She began, wondering just how this would go since the girl had practically bolted earlier "I hope you understand that I am not upset with you, not that I think that hitting him was the best decision either."

Sunset felt that familiar tightness in her chest as she sat there, waiting for the proverbial blow to fall. _Whatever happens, I deserve it... I should have known I would blow it...again._ She thought, clenching her fists as if the tension and pain would help her brace herself for whatever punishment would come.

"Sunset, I don't say this to ridicule you but we need to work on that temper of yours and I say we because I fully intend to help you. But I think there is more to this than just frustration so I…"

Celestia was caught off guard by what happened next because suddenly Sunset had hugged her, crying hard and shaking violently. "Please don't give up on me! I….I didn't mean...I'm not a monster! Please…"

"Of course you're not a monster. I never believed that thing was the real you and I don't give up on people. What I was going to say was that I believe that that….blast...left you with a bit of psychological and emotional trauma. you said you had to face everything negative in your life and about yourself all at once, am I right?" Celestia assured, returning the embrace.

When Sunset nodded her answer the aurora-haired woman continued softly "I want you to start going to a doctor, he is a friend of mine and I know he won't care that you aren't from around here, as a matter of fact...he probably would love to hear stories of magic."

"What? But people might start…" Sunset began, earning a slight chuckle that prompted her to look up at the woman, who just smiled reassuringly.

"Well, I will say that Trixie Lulamoon is not the only person I met that blew things up in her face trying to do magic. Although the three I knew didn't come too close to it, except maybe the one time a book mysteriously flew across the room and hit me in the head."

Sunset couldn't help but laugh at that, the tension breaking nearly instantly

"Why do you think it didn't shock Luna and I when a student suddenly had a magical temper tantrum?"

Sunset blushed at that and hid her face back against Celestia's shoulder. She knew that the woman was teasing but hearing it put like that was embarrassing.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash sat on Fluttershy's bed while reading over the posts on Mystable. The only update from Sunset in over an hour was that she wouldn't be online for a few days. Yet Anon-a-miss was still posting.

"Well if that ain't proof that Sunset is innocent then nothing is! After how scared that girl was at lunch ah doubt she would risk making whoever she lives with mad." AJ commented earning a nod from everyone else.

"I do hope she is alright. You don't think that she is in any danger, do you? I mean she did seem really nervous about going home." Fluttershy asked from where she sat on the floor with Rarity, flipping through magazines.

"She was probably just nervous because she didn't want to disappoint or because she was afraid that her mom would start treating her like everyone else at school." Pinkie Pie said suddenly, earning a surprised look from everyone in the room.

"Yeah, I didn't think of that."


	23. Chapter 23

"You seem to be in a good mood today Red."

Sunset scowled over at the young man but otherwise ignored him. _I don't feel like dealing with him right now. I have heard so much shit this week I am not letting him ruin my day._ She thought as she began to load the wheelbarrow.

"Shut the hell up." she mumbled, moving past him.

"Okay okay. No need to bite my head off. I was just trying to make conversation." he retorted, moving to help her as he added "so why did you set off an explosion anyway? No offense but you don't seem like a pyromaniac."

Sunset sighed as she blew a strand of hair out of her face before answering "Long story though let's just go with I was an egotistical brat who threw a tantrum when she didn't win a crown."

Capper chuckled a bit at that before shrugging "No judgment here. Where I'm from I share a house with a former delinquent, the leader of a motorcycle gang and a thirteen-year-old with a sarcasm problem." he stated just as the bell rang, signaling lunch.

"your friends will be waiting to eat with you. I can handle this for a while."

* * *

"Who is that guy you were talking to?" Rarity asked, earning a laugh from all of the group

"Oh boy, here we go again. What guy will be the potential boyfriend material next week?" Applejack teased as they sat down at the farthest table away from everyone.

"Oh, you mean Jerkface? His name is Capper. Trust me, he is not _that_ attractive." Sunset retorted, snickering as Rarity waved to him.

"Ooh sounds like Sunset has a crush." Rainbow teased, prompting Sunset to flick a spoonful of peas into her face.

"Oh be quiet. I do not."

Sunset had to admit, she felt a lot more comfortable with the girls after the sleepover the previous weekend. Rainbow just laughed, brushing the offending food off her clothes.

"You so totally do!" she laughed before adding "How did things go with your mom last night? Well besides you getting unplugged for a few days."

"Well, it could have been worse. I mean she wasn't even angry, just disappointed I guess. She talked to me about how I need to learn to control my temper...which is true, it wasn't only in this world that my temper has landed me in trouble."

Sunset said honestly, blushing a bit. It was still a bit of a struggle to be completely truthful about things, especially when they were this personal.

"Hey, you're not the first or last person who had to learn to control themselves. I have a temper problem sometimes. I will help you, as will the rest of us." Rainbow Dash assured with a small smile before adding "Hey, after you get out of detention do you want to hang out? We're supposed to go see a movie or something."

"I don't know…I mean I don't think I have any more restrictions but…" Sunset began, unsure if accepting the offer would be alright or not.

"Oh come on! It'll be fun!"

Sunset glanced over at Pinkie Pie who had just nearly deafened her.

"I'll see if I can. I mean I would love to but I don't know if I am grounded in more ways than just no tech."

* * *

"I am glad you guys are almost done. Not that I don't enjoy the company but I have woken up three different times with a muscle cramp." Sunset said as she had begun to paint one part of the newly completed wall.

"Trust me, you will regret saying that when you get stuck painting the lower walls by yourself though the principals don't seem to trust you on a ladder." Forman Steel stated, earning a sigh.

"Well, I think most of that is probably because of my back. I got hit pretty hard by some debris and am still pretty banged up." Sunset replied, catching sight of her group of friends standing by Capper. Rainbow and AJ giggling and whispering while Rarity was talking to the tall, dark-haired boy.

"Seems like your friend is trying her luck. Luckily for her Cap's nineteen and since you all seem to be juniors I'm risking a guess that she's sixteen." Steel chuckled, changing the subject since he figured Sunset probably didn't want to talk about what happened.

"Good, maybe Capper will stop teasing me so much!" Sunset replied though she couldn't help but smirk a bit at the thought of the two together. _Capper seems like a generally nice guy, even if he is Tartarus bent on annoying me._ She thought just as Luna walked over.

"Why don't you go on home Sunset? You've spent all day out here working."

Sunset remembered her promise to at least ask if she could hang out with the girls or not but she knew that it would seem too suspicious to go inside to ask, but Luna was still intimidating.

Biting her lip she tried to force herself to ask the question.

"Can I borrow your phone to ask Celestia something? As you know I'm sort of grounded right now and don't have a phone." she asked in a breath, earning a quizzical look from the vice principal.

"Why don't you just go inside and ask?" Luna asked though the nervous look made her relent "here, just make it quick."

"Thanks, Miss. Luna." Sunset said quickly, typing put a text quickly. It didn't take long to get a response.

"Thanks again!" she stated before handing Luna her phone and rushing off to join her friends.

"I take it that she is the girl Discord was talking about your sister taking in." Steel guessed, earning a chuckle.

"Yeah. Don't ask why or how. I'm just glad I am not the one who has to deal with that emotional roller coaster. I barely know how to talk to her on a day to day bases."

* * *

 **A/N: Any suggestions for the next chapter? Running into a bit of a writers block.**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I wanna thank Jackster Pearl for helping me out with this chapter.**

"Well, this wasn't expected." Sunset commented as they walked into the small ice cream shop near the theater, causing the leather-clad girl behind the counter to look up, smirking.

"Hey, bacon-hair."

Sunset glared, though before she could reply Capper brushed past them, chuckling a bit as he said: "cut the kid a break Fizzy, she's had a hard week." prompting the mohawked girl to throw a styrofoam cup at him.

"I told you not to call me that! Anyway, I already have sorta met bacon girl here but I suppose I should formally introduce myself before everyone starts calling me Fizzy." the raspberry skinned girl glared over at Capper then, earning a smirk though she just sighed.

"My name is Tempest Shadow. It's nice to meet you all." She stated, smirking as she saw Fluttershy partially hide behind Rainbow Dash.

"Well, this is Sunset Shimmer and her friends. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, uh...AppleJack, I think I got that right and the quiet one is Fluttershy." Capper began, just as Pinkie practically bounced across the room and held out a hand toward Tempest.

"And I'm Pinkie Pie!"

Tempest was too in shock by either the hyperactive girl or the fact that Pinkie had practically shouted in her face. Blinking in surprise Tempest replied "charmed." though this just caused the others to chuckle.

"Trust me, she takes some getting used to." Sunset commented before adding "I'm _still_ getting used to her."

Tempest managed a nod as she smiled a bit, glancing over at the clock.

"My shift is about over and since you're friends with dumbass here I'll cut you a deal. Tell me what you want, it's on the house this time. If you want I can show you what we do for fun around here."

* * *

The next day Sunset was tasked to paint the building. She knew that this would probably the end of the worst part of her punishment since the other seemed to be just general cleaning around the school.

She ignored the lunch bell as it rang, just wanting to get as much done as possible before either the end of the day or when she was released to go inside to work on whatever schoolwork that had been collected from her classes.

She was so busy painting that she didn't even notice anyone approaching her until she was suddenly grabbed from behind. She tried to struggle as she was suddenly pulled toward the back of the building.

"What are you doing? Let me go! Please! I'm sorry for everything I ever did!" she pleaded, struggling hard against them though she could feel the wounds on her back ripping open from the struggle.

"No way anon-a-miss! You aren't getting by so easy this time!"

"It's time you paid for everything you ever did to us!"

"Not so strong now are you, SunShit?"

The whole group of students, at least ten of them suddenly swarmed around her as her captures shoved her against one of the back walls, holding her there as if she was a criminal about to face a firing squad.

She felt her heart beating faster by the minute. She felt as if the air itself was choking her as the makeshift mob closed in and she closed her eyes, bracing herself the best she could for the pain she knew would come.

"What's wrong She-demon?"

She felt something slimy hit the side of her face but she didn't dare to open her eyes to see what it was. This was followed by something hot drenching her jacket and skirt, burning her skin.

"Now it looks like she pissed on herself!"

"Good enough for her! Remember when she poured hot coffee over Heath?"

 _I won't give them the pleasure of seeing me cry._ Sunset thought as she felt something else hit her, squishing against the front of her shirt. She heard laughter as something was poured over her head and by the smell of it, it was something that contained meat.

"No one wants you here! Why don't you go back to where you came from!"

"I bet she didn't have anyone there either which is why she came running here! Well, guess what _princess_? No one is going to care about **anything** you say or do here either!"

Sunset felt her tears spill through her tightly clenched eyelids.

"Oh look! Demon-bitch is crying!"

"how does it feel sun-bitch? You made my sister cry last night by posting her secrets all over the web!"

"What the Hell are you doing!?"

No sooner did she hear the sudden voice something dumped over her and she found herself trying not to gag. Garbage. There had only been one time she had shoved someone into a dumpster and that had been Zephyr Breeze but even she had morals.

As soon as she felt the hands drop she took off running. Not caring where she went as long as she got away from everyone. She could hear Rainbow Dash yelling at the crowd and AJ calling to her but she ignored it and just ran.

She ran until she was sure her lungs would burst then she collapsed to her knees in an alley. She couldn't help as she began to cry, sobs taking over her body. She knew her outfit was totally ruined, especially since she could smell paint, which had to have been one of the substances poured over her.

 _ **No one is going to care about anything you say or do!**_

The words repeated over and over in her mind, sometimes sounding like the familiar voices of school students, other times sounding like the voice of the demon she had become.

"Holy shit kid! What the hell happened to you?"

Looking up she saw a tall woman with whitish blonde hair and wearing gold jewelry.

Sunset found herself whimpering as she heard the sound of motors suddenly, not knowing what to expect. However, at this point, she didn't care what happened to her.

"Oh damn. She's bleeding! Celaeno, I'll go get the car."


	25. Chapter 25

"Here, I found some of my old clothes in the attic, they might fit you." Tempest said as she came in, wincing as she saw the flayed skin on Sunset's back as Celaeno applied a thick salve on the reopened wounds.

"thanks." Sunset murmured, wincing as the woman began to apply bandages. Tempest sighed as she put the clothes down on the bed before she decided to produce an orange phone from her pocket.

"Someone is blowing your phone up. It might feel like the end of the world but you have people who are obviously very worried about you right now." Tempest stated, careful with keeping her voice soft.

The girl had been too quiet since they had brought her to their home, ignoring her phone even though it had been vibrating nearly endlessly since they had found her.

"Hey, guys? Where is….nevermind….who is she?"

Tempest rolled her eyes as she shoved the younger boy out the door and shut it in his face.

"A friend! Now scram brat!"

"But I'm hungry!"

"Ugh go fix yourself something! You're not an infant!"

Sunset couldn't help but smile as she listened to their banter, pulling the blankets tighter around her as the numbing gel began to finally work.

"Sorry about them, they are constantly bantering." Celaeno chuckled as she stood "now get dressed and I'll try to make us all something to eat. Anything you can't or won't eat?"

* * *

It was nearly dark when Sunset finally answered her phone, a roar of voices on the other side.

"Sunset? Are you okay?"

"Where are you?"

"Are you okay?"

Sunset sighed as she glanced down at the large first-degree burn on her upper leg as she thought about the answer to that? Was she okay? How did she answer that?

"I'm a bit shaken up but yeah, I'm okay." She decided to answer, glancing over at where Tempest and Celaeno were engaged in some kind of card game while Grubber watched some kind of animated movie while stuffing himself with nachos.

"Guys, I'm hanging out with Tempest and her family. Can I call you back? I think I need to call and let someone important know that I'm alright. Not that you guys aren't…" she was cut off by Rainbow

"We know what you mean Sunshim, relax. Just, make sure to call us back okay?"

"Ya had us all worried Sugarcube. But what those idiots done to ya ain't right and they were wrong, you do have people who care about ya."

After she hung up Sunset sat there, staring at nothing in particular as she tried to figure out what to do. Did they really care? Would Celestia forgive her for running off? Suddenly a hand touched her shoulder, prompting her to look up to see that Celaeno was towering over her.

"Want me to drive you home, Sunset?"

Sunset scoffed at the question, drawing her knees to her chest as she replied: "where is home?"

"She sounds like you did when…" Grubber didn't get to finish his sentence as his face was shoved directly into his bowl of ice cream by Tempest as she walked past him.

"Kid, people are blowing up your fucking phone. I know I wouldn't call anyone that many times if I didn't care about them." Tempest stated, motioning to the phone before adding "plus from what I saw those girls, they are truly on your side."

Sunset didn't know what came over her as she suddenly stood, turning toward the older girl as she yelled "You know nothing about me! You don't know what I've done! You don't know what I almost did!"

Tempest arched a brow, not at all intimidated by the younger teen despite the fact that Sunset looked almost ready to hit her at any moment. "you are right. I don't know about your past, only what I see now and what I see is an emotional wreck."

She answered before she removed her jacket, something she had not been without any time Sunset had seen her, revealing a large scar on her left forearm. "I was a troubled kid, to say the least. I nearly killed two of my friends while showing off with fireworks. I was lucky a third-degree burn and this scar on my face was the worst of what happened."

Tempest chuckled as if remembering something as she glanced over at Sunset, who seemed to be losing some of her anger. "I was in the hospital for months. No one visited, not even my parents. No one wanted to talk to the pyromaniac. I was shuffled from foster home to foster home until I ended up with Storm King."

Sunset noticed how uncomfortable this made everyone in the room, though Celaeno was the next to speak "She moved in with me after his abuse went a bit too far. I actually found her trying to hotwire Capper's truck."

Tempest closed her eyes as she took a deep breath before saying " Getting off topic. Anyway, What I am trying to say is that family isn't always by blood and that the worst of people can change. Don't make the same mistakes I did, don't wait until you almost lose the people you care about to realize you have special people in your life."

"I guess I probably should take you up on that offer, Celaeno."


	26. Chapter 26

**Trigger warning: Self-harm mentioned toward the end of the chapter. Read at own risk.**

She was shaking, despite how much she was telling herself whatever happened wouldn't be that bad. _Do I knock or do I just walk in?_ She wondered, pausing on the steps before glancing over her shoulder. She knew that she was being watched, that she had a place to stay if anything went wrong, but a voice in the back of her mind told her that nothing would happen.

With a shaking hand, she knocked on the door. _What if no one answers? What if..._ her thoughts were interrupted by the door suddenly swinging open. The redhead couldn't help but flinch back as she saw her self-appointed guardian approaching her. However, the fear didn't last long as arms suddenly wrapped around her.

"Don't you ever worry everyone like that again."

Sunset felt herself go rigid before practically melting into the embrace. The stress and pain of everything that had happened that day seeming to just crumble away. "I'm sorry." she managed to choke out, her grip on the woman tightening.

"Shh, it's alright. Come on, let's go inside okay?"

* * *

"No wonder Sunset didn't come to school! I don't blame her! I mean she was a total jerk before but the closest to dumping trash over someone's head she ever came to was when she poured punch over Rarity!" Rainbow Dash commented at lunch the next day.

"Well, at least the brutes got caught." Rarity responded, not even hiding her distaste for the whole ordeal though Rainbow just scoffed.

"That's not enough! They poured fucking garbage over her! Not to mention that Fluttershy saw blood, so they managed to hurt more than her ego!"

"Ah have to agree with Dash on this one." Applejack responded with a mouthful of sandwich.

"I say we get our own payback on them! I mean if it was any of you I would be ready to kill someone! Why should we be any different by Sunset?"

They became so caught up in their ranting that they didn't notice that anyone had been listening in on their conversation until suddenly another voice said: "I would like to help if you were to get even with those idiots."

"What do ya want Trixie? You're the one who threw salt in Sunset's face the other day!" Applejack countered, causing the white-haired girl to glare back.

"Trixie admits she may have….overreacted. But even I will admit that what they did to her wasn't right."

This prompted the group of four to share a questioning look before Rainbow shrugged.

"Fine, meet me after school on the soccer field. I'll see if I can't get Spitfire to help out."

* * *

Everything hurt. Every muscle in her body was sore from running, she back hurt no matter what way she sat or lay and she had bruises forming on her upper arms. But what was worse was the lack of sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw images of death around her, sometimes in Equestria, sometimes in the human world, familiar faces laying lifeless around her.

 _ **Tonight you showed everyone what was in your heart!**_

 _How can they forgive me? What if everyone is right...what if...everything is just some elaborate hoax? A way to get back at me for ruining everyone friendships and being a complete asshole?_ Sunset wondered as she sat in her room, alone.

She remembered the feeling of arms around her the night before, how safe she had felt in that moment. _Principal Celestia wouldn't do that, would she?_ The thought alone brought tears to her eyes and she felt as if her heart would shatter.

 _Why can't I just have one good night's sleep? Why can't I just get these childish wishes out of my head because all they do is make me remember everything I will never have?_ She was tired of crying, of feeling numb when she was alone, and of the crushing guilt whenever she even attempted to look into someone's eyes.

Sunset was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear her phone buzzing on the bedside table until a default ringtone started to play, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. "Who could that be?" she wondered aloud, sniffling as she clicked the accept button.

"Hello?"

It was quiet for a few minutes before a voice said "You sound horrible. Are you alright?"

Sunset was confused for a minute before she asked "Trixie? How did you get my number?"

"Fluttershy gave it to me after I convinced them I wasn't going to try to tar and feather you or something. I and your friends were going to meet after school to hang out, I don't want to give anything away but I was wondering if you wanted to meet up with us somewhere to..hang out?"

Sunset could practically hear the quotation marks around the words hang out and she could hear Applejack and Rainbow Dash bickering in the background but could she really trust them? What if they were a part of whatever plan that the student body of CHS had formed against her?

"I think I should rest today Trixie. I'm pretty sore from yesterday."

It wasn't a lie but she feared that they would see through her excuse. She could hear the sound of shuffling and then a click before Rainbow Dash's voice came through the speaker "we understand, just know if you need someone to vent to. We're here."

She could hear the others say their input in a dull roar of voices, causing her to start to laugh especially when Trixie and Rarity got into a bickering match in the background.

"Thanks, guys, I needed a laugh. I will probably see you guys tomorrow. I just felt like crap today." Sunset stated one part of her wanting to believe that they cared. However, as soon as she hung up the thoughts began to roll through her mind again.

 _I can't deal with this. Even if they are being honest and just want to hang out I don't deserve it. I tried to brainwash and kill the same people who are trying to help me! I don't deserve any of this!_

Sunset couldn't help but feel angry at herself. As she stood she felt the burn on her thigh protest the movement but she couldn't handle the pain. She wandered into her bathroom where she had hidden the bottle of pills she had been using as a sleep aid since she had come to stay with the principal, wondering if they would make her sleep through the day.

 _But what if I have_ _ **that dream**_ _again? The only reason I didn't completely lose it last night was because of Celestia._ The thought alone made a surge of self-directed anger rush through her, resulting in her slamming her fist into the wall. As the sheering pain shot through both her back and wrist she became aware of how the pain, even just for the moment distracted her from the turmoil she felt in her heart.

She thought back to something she had overheard in the school hallways, a bitterness settling like a stone in the pit of her stomach as her common sense began to fight against her thoughts of wanting relief. _I've already proved I am a disgrace and an idiot. I proved that time and time again. This time, at least the only one hurting is me._

With that thought, she closed her eyes as if to steel what little nerve she had left as she contemplated on how to test that theory. As she stood there, leaned against the wall she remembered everything that the blast had shown her.

The pain she had caused in her stupid display of grandeur, the loneliness, and longing that she had forced herself to shove to the farthest reaches of her mind and greed that was caused by her own stupidity.

Opening her eyes again she fought tears as she made up her mind. _Who cares if I do or don't? I don't have anyone or anypony either, not really. As soon as those girls are done playing hero I'll be a forgotten name in the wind._

With that, she made her decision and grabbed the first thing she could find that could possibly harm her. She knew that the razor would not go deep, but she didn't need it to. She just needed to hurt, she _deserved to hurt._

Setting her jaw she pressed the object, blade side down just above her knee just like someone would as if shaving before swiftly raking it sideways across the skin, leaving a thin pale line that slowly began to sting before blood began to bubble to the surface.


	27. Chapter 27

**I want to thank Jackster Pearl for giving me the idea for this chapter.**

Sunset wasn't sure what she was expecting when she got to school but whatever it was, it wasn't being tackled into a hug by a pink blur or being met outside by not four but five familiar faces. She didn't know what to say or do so she just stood there, dumbfounded.

"Uh Pinkie, I think you broke her." Rainbow snickered, much to everyone's amusement.

"Oopsie, Sorry Sunny! I didn't hurt you did I?"

Sunset managed to shake the shock off as she replied "no, you didn't." before adding as if in an afterthought "wait, did you just call me Sunny?"

"Yep! I mean, Dashie calls you Sunshim so I figured I would give you a nickname too!"

"Uh...okay?"

"Don't worry. That's just Pinkie Pie for ya. When we first became friends she took to calling me Jackie until everyone agreed on AJ."

"Don't worry about it. Everyone has gotten nicknamed by her at some point."

* * *

Sunset was surprised that she was sent to her regular classes that day, having been told that the wall would be taken care of, which confused her since before she was constantly reminded that she made the mess, she had to at least help clean it up.

"Evidently those jackasses got what was comin' to 'em. Then again, they say what goes 'round comes back 'round." Applejack explained as they walked into their history class.

Sunset couldn't help but shiver at the mention of the group that had attacked her, their words reverberating through her mind. "Honestly, I just want to forget the whole thing." she replied as she began to sit down, only for the chair to be yanked out from beneath her, resulting in her falling to the floor.

"Now listen here Y'all bunch of yellow backed jerks! Sunset ain't doin' a thing to ya so lay off!"

Sunset didn't know what to do as she listened to Applejack yell at the whole room before helping her up.

"But she's anon-a-miss! Who else would post people's secrets?"

Sunset wished the floor could swallow her when she heard those words. However, Applejack just sighed and shook her head at them.

"Anon-A-Miss posted all week, Sunset has only had access to her phone for two days this week." Applejack began, glancing over at Sunset before adding

"Ah also know Sunset Shimmer didn't know about Rainbow Dash's so-called secret or the fact that I got bucked off of a darn horse at a rodeo because one happened before she came here and the other….Rainbow never told her plus she and Fluttershy were at the mall together the night of the soccer game against crystal prep."

This caused a dull roar of whispers throughout the class before the teacher walked in, calling their attention away from Sunset.

 _What is Rainbow Dash not telling me? Doesn't she trust me?_ Sunset couldn't help but worry as she tried to pay attention to the lecture. By the time lunch rolled around, she could feel the stress of the emotions threatening to turn into a headache.

"Hey, Sunset! Come here! I got something to show you!" Rainbow Dash's voice cuts out of her thoughts as the athlete rushed down the hall before skidding to a halt in front of her. "Come on, hurry up! Fluttershy and Rarity can't keep the principals occupied forever!"

"What are you talking about? Where are we going?"

Sunset questioned, beginning to panic slightly as she was pulled along toward the stairwell.

"You'll see. It took us all day yesterday to plan this!" Rainbow answered simply as she pushed open the door that led to the school's roof.

Sunset froze as she saw Spitfire and AJ already there, both holding trash cans. The senior smirking while AJ had a sheepish smile. "What are you guys up to?" she asked, earning a smirk from Rainbow who put a hand on her shoulder.

"Those jerks went too far yesterday and no one messes with a friend of mine!" the prism haired girl responded, earning an eye roll from AJ who sighed

" _ **our**_ friend Rainbow." The farmer stated before adding to Sunset "You can help if you want."

Sunset was floored that they would go that far for her, after all, weren't these the same girls she had thought had been goody-two-shoes before?

"No! I won't let you do this. I don't want you to get into any trouble on my account!" she said, trying to sound authoritative though failing greatly as her lips quivered as her mind whirled with how this could go wrong and reflect back on her.

"Alright, Sun shit, whatever you say but _I_ think I'm older than you." Spitfire stated, earning a look from Rainbow Dash as Sunset's eyes darkened at the nickname.

"What? I call you crash, Soarin is called Clipper because he ran into that flagpole freshman year! Hell...Soarin and everyone else in our friend group calls me Shit-fire at least once a week! It's not like there's anything else I can come up with using her name!" The orange haired girl retorted defensively.

 _Is she teasing?_ Sunset wondered though before she could ask Applejack spoke up

"How did you get stuck with Shit-fire anyway?"

Spitfire chuckled as she glanced down at the parking lot as if searching for something " I accidentally put red pepper flakes into what was supposed to be a cinnamon nut cake."

* * *

Sunset couldn't help but watch as a foul-smelling smoke filled the air, followed by Rainbow Dash and Spitfire tipping two trash cans over the side of the building, drenching the group of students beneath them.

Their yelps and curses made one part of Sunset want to laugh since now they would have to deal with the same mess she did, however, another part of her wanted to berate her friends for such a hostile act.

However just as she was about to speak another wave of squeals came from the group, prompting her to look down and see them covered in something white that glistened with sparks of color in the sunlight.

"I know it may seem like an ass move kid but Rainbow told us how they were treating you. They need to know what it feels like." Spitfire stated, glancing up at the sky as she added: "just like you needed to understand how it felt on the receiving end of **your** past transgressions."

* * *

After school in a combined effort to cheer Sunset up, the girls (along with Trixie and Spitfire) drug Sunset away from the school, despite the redhead's protests of just wanting to go home. Rarity and Fluttershy going ahead of the rest in in order to set up their surprise while Pinkie Pie rushed off to get something she had forgotten for the event.

"So you were the one who made the stink bombs? How did you detonate them all at once like that?" Sunset asked later as she sat with her group of friends inside of a gazebo at the park, a makeshift picnic resting on the floor around them.

"A magician never reveals her secrets!" Trixie responded, taking a bow while removing the hat she had worn that day, a smoke bomb falling out of a hidden pocket and exploding, concealing the silver-haired girl behind a wall of thick smoke.

Sunset couldn't help but laugh at the magician, who was coughing and trying to fan away as much of the offending fumes as possible.

"Trixie darling, do us all a favor next time and leave your smoke balls at home. No one wants to asphyxiate on a cheap trick."


	28. Chapter 28

Celestia sighed as she glanced into the living room where Sunset lay on the sofa. She hadn't moved since she had gotten home nor had she spoken more than a few words. Sighing she walked over and glanced at the girl's phone.

"You will drive yourself crazy if you keep worrying about it." She commented though the only response she got was an eye roll from the teen. "So, want to tell me what happened on the roof today at school?"

She had to keep from chuckling when Sunset nearly fell as she tried to sit up, eyes widening. "How did you figure it out?" Sunset asked in a low voice, earning light chuckle as the woman moved to sit beside of her.

"Well, it wasn't that hard. Besides only two students ever made smoke bombs and one is sitting here beside of me and the other...well...You've been spending time with lately." Celestia stated, watching as the teen seemed to shrink into herself so she added: "but I'm not here to lecture you. I actually wanted to talk to you about something else."

 _What? Why isn't she angry? I mean what we did wasn't…_ Sunset couldn't help but wonder as she finally turned her attention to her guardian, who just seemed amused by the whole ordeal. Is this some kind of trick? What if she will hold this over my head?

"What about?" Sunset asked, eyes focusing the floor as she waited for whatever was to come.

"About this whole anonymous mess." Celestia began, earning a glare

"So you think it's me too?" Sunset exclaimed, her temper flaring up though when she turned to look at the woman Sunset could only see the concern in her violet gaze.

"I don't think it's you Sunset. I know it's not." Celestia stated, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder to try to help calm her. "I only wanted to see how you're holding up. I know this is hard for you."

She watched as Sunset seemed to deflate, blushing before hurrying her face into her hands. "Sorry. I guess I just automatically assumed that you were blaming me too." she heard the teen mumble "everyone else seems to be."

"Sunset, you forget that everyone who really knows you can see how hard you are trying at this. No one who knows you are going to believe this even for a minute." Celestia assured, rubbing the girl's back lightly, being careful not to hurt her.

"Even **_if_** I admitted that it was my fault that your office smelled like rotten eggs last year during that meeting thing?" Sunset muttered, earning a slight chuckle which caused her to look up.

"I assumed it was, after all, you were quite angry with me that week." Celestia replied before adding "but I am not so much of a stick-in-the-mud that a childish prank would upset me. It's not like anyone was hurt by it."

"I still feel like I should apologize though. I was such a jerk back then and I was the idiot who got sent to your office for fighting, to begin with." Sunset confessed though to her surprise Celestia just pulled her against her side.

Sunset didn't understand why in those moments she felt safe as if all the worry melted from her _. Why do I have to be so damn weird? I have been on my own for an a...long time._ _I don't need someone to..._ The teenager was ripped from her thoughts however when Celestia spoke again.

"Everyone makes mistakes when they are young and I don't care who or what they are. Making mistakes is the only way for people to learn and grow. Even I have done things that I want to kick myself for even thinking about doing."

This caught Sunset's attention. "That's kinda hard to believe. I honestly doubt either of you ever has screwed up as much as I have!"

Whatever Sunset was expecting it wasn't a pair of lips pressing into her hair.

"perhaps we didn't use magic to blow apart a building but both of us have had our fair share of bad decisions, some with consequences just as painful as those you are facing now. But here's something I have learned, time makes things hurt a lot less and having friends to help you through the rough spots help."

Sunset didn't know how to react to any of this, though she couldn't help but lean into the woman's embrace. _Just don't start hoping for the impossible again. Keep your brain locked in reality._ She reminded herself mentally, allowing herself to enjoy the rare closeness.

* * *

"So you're saying that Sunset Shimmer is innocent? Then who could be mean enough to spread that kinda drama?"

"I don't know but I think we should help your sisters figure out who is doing this crap. I mean they threw trash all over Sunset and no matter how many times she made me wipe out she never did something that cruel I mean she was an asshole but not that big of an asshole."

Applejack heard the voices through the door as she walked by, trying not to roll her eyes before she knocked on the door. "Dinner's ready you three. Y'all can help me and the girls come up with some way to shut this Anon-a-miss person down tomorrow. Right now we better go eat."


	29. Chapter 29

She couldn't sleep, no she wouldn't. Every time she closed her eyes she saw images of that demon wreaking havoc. She didn't want to face any more dreams about what could have happened the night after the crown had brought out the darkness and anger that her own ego and bitterness had formed inside her.

Sighing she got up and walked over to the terrarium that sat on one side of her room, noticing that only her pet's tail visible from under a fake log. "I'm glad someone can sleep." she mumbled, though she instantly felt bad for the path her thoughts were going.

 _It's not anybody's fault I can't sleep. I'm the dumbass that turned into a raging she-demon._ She mentally scolded herself, though the thought sent a wave of nausea through her as she recalled the feeling of the fireball between her hands, how one part of her was screaming to stop while the prominent, angry part had sent the orb hurling toward Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

One part of her wanted to talk to someone about this and that same part of her mind made her want to go to Celestia. _No, you can face this on your own. You shouldn't get too dependent on anyone. You know that doing so only gets you hurt in a long run._ Sighing she remembered how she had gotten a brief reprieve the day before.

 _Well, I've already done that before...might as wells do it again._

She thought before heading toward the bathroom. Making sure the door was locked Sunset sighed and sat down on the closed toilet seat. _Maybe if I do this enough I'll be able to get some real sleep._ She thought as she repeated the same action she had done the day before, not stopping until her thigh was littered with blood and scratches.

* * *

Trixie sighed as she saw Sunset walking toward her, she could tell by one glance that the redhead had a bad night, dark rings formed under her eyes. Though what really stood out was the fact that Sunset was dressed in a pair of sweatpants instead of her usual leggings or skirts.

"Are you okay?" Trixie asked, earning a glare from the former bully who made a point at walking right past her. "And the big jerk ignores me. Okay, that works too I guess." Trixie muttered before following her, noticing the slight limp and stiff movements.

 _Sunset's friends mentioned her being afraid of her foster mother, now she's limping and everyone saw blood when she ran off the other day after that trash incident. She is obviously tired today...is it possible that she is being abused at home?_

That thought alone worried Trixie, especially since Sunset was already being practically tortured at school. Hurrying to catch up with her, the magician decided to try again to make conversation "want to stop somewhere to get something to eat before meeting with the others? I could use a coffee."

"You and me both. I couldn't get to sleep last night." Sunset answered, running a hand over her face as if trying to wipe away the drowsiness she felt.

"I can tell, no offense but you look like hell."

"None taken. I feel like it too."

* * *

"Aw man. Your mom found out?"

"How much trouble are you in? We didn't get you into trouble did we?"

Sunset chuckled at her friend's concerned faces "well she wrote it off as a teenager thing. I am still surprised by how laid back she can be. I mean, if this had been my actual parents I'd have been in deep shit."

"Wait, you're saying your parents were…" Sunset cut Applejack off before she could finish her question.

"I don't want to talk about my family. They were aristocrats and we weren't very close and I was beyond glad when I got to study under the princess since I got to live as far from them as I could get." She said, remembering all too well what blasts of magic could feel like.

"Anyways Darling, how was it that your mother found out?"

 _I can't tell them the truth. Who would want to invite the principal's...pet...to anything? Besides Celestia doesn't know what they–we call her. She probably would be so annoyed if she found out I called her my foster mother._

"Evidently Luna is smarter than we realized. But according to my mom, the principles aren't going to do anything this time." She answered with a shrug, hoping she seemed nonchalant about the whole thing.

"Well, at least no one's going to end up in trouble this time." Fluttershy commented, earning a chuckle from Rainbow Dash.

"You're still thinking about what happened sixth-grade year aren't you?" she questioned, earning a nod in response.

"Hey, why don't we tell embarrassing stories from our pasts? I'm sure even Sunny has something to talk about!" Pinkie suggested earning a collective groan from the group.

"Pinkie, remind me again why we let ya suggest things?" Applejack retorted, though Rainbow Dash just laughed as she said: "Just tell the story about the pigs AJ! Sunset will hear that story eventually!"

"Ugh, Fine but ya go first miss bigshot! Ah, think we all want to hear about the trashcan accident that happened freshman year!"


	30. Chapter 30

"So every since then, Piggly-wiggly has stuck as a family nickname."

Sunset couldn't help but laugh as Apple-bloom made an oinking noise, only to get hit with a pillow by AJ. "Okay so AJ's got a stupid nickname, Dash tripped into a trashcan, and Rarity had a wardrobe malfunction. I guess I'll save Fluttershy the embarrassment and tell a story of my own." Sunset answered, noticing the three younger members of the group suddenly look way too interested.

"Trixie has got to hear this." the magician muttered, voicing what half the room was thinking.

"Okay so while I was studying under the princess in my world a group of older students challenged me to hunt a manticore which is a half lion type thing. I, of course, didn't know it was a prank to take my ego down a notch or that there were no pony eating manticores within a hundred mile radius."

She paused then, glancing out the window "of course I had to try to be miss badass and storm off into the forest to prove my point. Though the only thing I proved was that I was afraid of spiders, knew how to fall on my face into the mud and turned into an Emotional wreck when my mentor gave me a very public lecture."

"Wait, you're afraid of spiders?" Rainbow said as soon as Sunset had finished, causing the redhead to scoff.

"No! Well at least, not anymore but I was terrified of them when I was a kid. So terrified in fact that one of the guys my older brother was friends with decided to put one on me in middle of class…I ended up transfiguring half the room into statues. Luckily Princess Celestia could um...undo that whole mess." 

* * *

"I can't believe your sister's favorite animal use to be pigs! Then again, I use to like ladybugs." Sweetie Belle commented as she and the other two crusaders walked toward the barn.

"Ah know right? But it gives me something to hang over AJ's head when she's being all bossy. Ah can't believe Sunset didn't know about Rainbow Dash falling into the trash though. Didn't she start causin' trouble their freshman year?"

"I can't believe R.D ever was that clumsily! That's something I would do!"

They didn't notice that someone was watching them from the bushes, one texting away everything that they had overheard.

"If this doesn't make the whole school think Sunset is still the biggest meanie nothing will!" 

* * *

"Hey, do you think your Mom will let you sleep over at my place? We were thinking about having a slumber party since it is the weekend! Trixie can come too!"

Trixie choked on soda at that as Sunset just shrugged and pulled out her phone "I'll step outside and call her to check." she replied before glancing over at Trixie and smirking "You okay there Great and Powerful Magician or did you go into shock?"

"Shut up! Trixie has been to a lot of slumber parties!"

Sunset just chuckled as she walked out of the room "sure you have Trixie, sure you have."

Once Sunset was out of earshot the magician sighed and glanced over at the room. "Did anyone else notice that Sunset is limping? Trixie...I'm concerned." Trixie stated, causing everyone to share a look with each other.

"Over what? She ran halfway across town the other day. She probably pulled a muscle or something." Rainbow Dash retorted, crossing her arms over her chest though Trixie just rolled her eyes.

"Think about it! You said she was afraid of her foster mom to some extent and the other day she was bleeding when she ran off after that….whatever the heck it was. What if her foster parent found out about what happened at the fall formal? I mean...something is wrong with this picture!"

"But if Sunset were having problems she would come to us." Rarity assured, earning a concerned look from Rainbow who suddenly looked deep in thought.

"Not exactly. I have this friend who was being treated like shit by her parents and she never told anyone until after her aunts got custody of her." she said, brow furrowing in concern as she turned toward the window where she could see Sunset walking along the fence, phone pressed to her ear.

"Do you think we should ask her or what?" She asked, earning a sigh from the whole room.

"Maybe we ought to just wait for her to come to us. Ah mean if she is bein' abused and we suddenly start pressurin' her she's gonna bolt like greased lightnin'." Applejack responded, earning a nod from Fluttershy.

"I think I know how to get her to talk! Thanksgiving break is coming up! How about we spend three of the five days having one large sleepover! Think about it, it would keep her away from the big meanie pants." Pinkie stated though AJ and Rarity didn't look convinced.

"Now hold your horses, we don't know for sure if Sunset is actually bein' abused or not. For all, we know she could have been hurt in the blast the night of the fall formal!"

"My uncle has a camper you can all stay in. Though I have to admit it's a bit messy because I store all my equipment there." Trixie suggested, cutting off Rarity who had began to say something. 

* * *

"I'm back, she said yes." Sunset stated as she walked in, collapsing onto an overstuffed bean bag chair that looked like it had seen better days. She noticed how everyone was staring at her and it unnerved her a bit. what? Did I step in manure or something?

"What? Did I do something wrong?" she questioned, fear gripping her however Rarity broke the silence.

"No, of course not Sunset! Why on earth would you think that, darling? We were talking about the holidays coming up! Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away and we were wondering if you would like to spend three days camping with us?" She responded, much to everyone's relief.

"Uh...yeah, It would be nice getting to know you, girls, more but I will need to actually ask and see what my foster family is planning. I have no idea if they have family out of town or not."

As the evening drew on Sunset became aware that Trixie really didn't know how to interact with anyone, reminding Sunset of herself when she was a filly. However, the magician was far less annoying when she was engaging Rainbow Dash in a video game tournament.

"Did you see what anon-a-miss just posted?" Pinkie exclaimed suddenly from where she was sitting on the floor, scrolling through her phone. This, of course, earned everyone's attention.

"Oh boy, what they sayin' now?" Applejack asked from the bed, where she was playing checkers against Fluttershy.

"They posted a pic of Lyra and Sweetie Drops together….like together-together not like friendship together." Pinkie answered, causing everyone to go quite as all eyes turned to Sunset, who didn't notice since she was flipping through one of Rarity's magazines.

"And people care about that why exactly? Back where I am from everybody minds their own business about that sort of thing...at least in Equestria."

"My question is who the heck is Sweetie Drops? I mean I know Lyra, but…" Rainbow Dash began, only to be cut off by Sunset who said simply: "She's the one who goes by Bonbon. She's the one who makes homemade candy for the bake sales."

"Oh so that's her real name! I always wondered about that."


	31. Chapter 31

**Jackster Pearl gave me the idea for this chapter. I just wasn't sure how to write it at first.**

"So I heard something interesting yesterday while on lunch detail." Luna said as she sank down unto the couch in Celestia's living room, earning an annoyed look as the older woman turned toward her.

"Please tell me the students didn't start another rumor about me and Ironwill. Last time it was graffitied outside in the student parking lot." Celestia stated, earning a laugh from Luna who just shook her head in amusement at that memory.

"No, it's nothing like that. Actually, it's….you know what? Not my place to say." Luna responded, getting a decorative cushion threw at her as soon as the words left her mouth.

"You're the worst."

Luna just laughed as she glanced at the clock, noting that it was nearly six o'clock.

"Since Sunset Shimmer is staying with friends tonight why don't we go out someplace to eat? The stress of this cyberbullying craze right now is doubtfully getting to you. It's annoying me and I'm not the one living with Sunset Shimmer. How is she doing anyway? You probably notice more about her than I do."

0000

Sunset hadn't expected the theater to be this crowded since nothing mainstream seemed to be playing that weekend, however, she couldn't help but feel anxious as she followed the girls into the lobby.

"I say we see that action flick. It's PG so Fluttershy won't totally barf again." Rainbow suggested, earning a glare from the pink haired girl in question.

"Rainbow, You're the only one out of all of us who can stand watching movies with an atrocious amount of gore." Rarity retorted, earning a nod from Applejack.

"You're just mad because I'm too cool to watch you're stupid 'written in the stars' romance shit!" Rainbow retorted before adding "come on, this movie is literally about a guy surviving a dystopia after realizing their perfect life isn't perfect! It's not even that violent!"

0000

"Are you sure that you don't want to come in with us Sugarcube? We'll only be in there for a minute." Applejack asked, earning a sigh. She knew that Sunset had nearly fallen asleep during the movie but she didn't exactly want to leave the redhead alone.

"Yeah, I can manage." Sunset responded, smiling slightly as she pulled out a handful of money "but can you get me something full of caffeine? Knowing Pinkie we'll be up all night and I'm pretty tired already."

"Keep your money. I've got this." Rainbow Dash stated, grinning slightly as she jumped out of the back of the pickup.

"Thanks, Dash. I'll pay you back."

"Don't Sweat it."

As the others went to buy supplies for their sleepover, which Sunset assumed was just a bunch of junk food she decided to walk around a bit, her back cramping some from sitting scrunched up in the backseat. _No wonder Rainbow, Pinkie, and AJ chose to let Fluttershy drive and Rarity have the front seat. The backseat is one tight space._ She thought as she got out of the cab.

She sighed as she glanced up at the sky, becoming lost in thought as she stood there trying to see any familiar patterns in the stars. She was so preoccupied with this that she didn't notice anyone approaching her until she found herself suddenly pushed forward.

She felt a sharp pain in her back and knees as she tried to stand, only to be pushed back down. "You thought you could get away with how you push people around? That you can lie about everyone?"

Sunset bit back a whimper as she felt someone kick her from behind, causing her to fall face-down onto the concrete. Pain shot through her body as someone hit her again, however as someone else started laughing she heard a sudden yelp of pain.

"That's pretty low, even for you dumb-bell!"

Sunset was still in a daze as she was helped to her feet. To her surprise Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood at the front, silently challenging someone to make a move while Rarity and Fluttershy were standing by Sunset. Sunset shuddered as she saw the look on Fluttershy's face, making mental note not to ever really tick off the quiet girl.

"Don't tell me that you are making friends with demons now, Rainbow Crash!"

Sunset was surprised to see Rainbow Dash draw her fist back to hit the taller boy, causing him to flinch back and glance over at his buddy who was standing behind him, nursing a bloody nose.

"Shut up! The only demons here are you! Ganging up on a defenseless girl like that!" Rarity retorted, helping Sunset hobble over to the cab of the truck and away from the other three.

"I am kinda glad that Fluttershy never got that ticked off at me. I didn't know she was capable of being that….intimidating." Sunset commented as she watched the trio slowly back away before all-out fleeing.

"Fluttershy tends to have an iron streak when it comes to people or animals being hurt or people calling her a liar." Rarity replied as the others came over.

"are you okay Sunset Shimmer?" Applejack asked, eyes narrowing as she looked the girl over.

"Some bruises and my pride hurts but besides that, I'm okay." Sunset answered before adding in a quiet voice "no offense guys but...can someone drop me off at my place? I don't feel like partying anymore."

"There's no way we're leaving you alone!" Trixie insisted, earning a quizzical look from Rainbow who smirked slightly as she shared a look with the others.

"I agree with the dunce on this one." she retorted, earning a glare from Trixie who opened her mouth to respond but quickly closed it and turned away in a huff.

"I...Thanks, guys." Sunset whispered, feeling her eyes burning slightly as a knot formed in her throat.

"That's what friends are for Sunset or haven't you figured that out yet?" Pinkie stated, nearly knocking her over with a hug.

"As much as I appreciate the gesture Pinkie, get off! I'm sure that my spleen doesn't want to be crushed. How the heck did you get that strong?"


	32. Chapter 32

Sunset sighed as she let herself into the house, followed closely by Trixie. "You can't tell _**anyone**_ anything you see here. Please, Trixie. This has to be kept under wraps for a little while." she pleaded in a hushed voice, earning a confused look.

"Okay, but may I ask why you don't want the other girls to know? I mean they are your friends, aren't they?" The magician questioned, earning a sigh as the redhead glanced down and away, rubbing her own left arm as she answered:

"I'm already judged by everyone and I just don't want my host family taking a fall for me, you know? Besides...I am afraid to know what anyone would think, but you'll understand in a minute."

With that Sunset sighed and motioned toward the rather elegant living room "make yourself at home. I'll be back." and with that Sunset set out to find her self-appointed guardian, praying that Trixie wouldn't make a mess of things.

"Celestia? I'm home...and I brought a friend over. I hope you don't mind but Trixie would not take no for an answer." Sunset said as she walked into the kitchen where the woman was sitting with Luna, drinking coffee.

"And she would forbid you from having visitors why?" Luna asked, earning a blush from Sunset who glanced away and answered

"Well, I didn't know if I…" Sunset began, shifting slightly as she avoided looking at the two women.

"It's fine Sunset. Luna is just trying to give you a hard time." Celestia's voice called her attention back to them. Sunset relaxed slightly when she saw that Luna had a ghost of a smile on Luna's face.

"You need to relax a bit miss. Shimmer. I am not going to bite." the vice principal responded.

As Sunset left the room Luna's eyes narrowed as she watched Sunset walk away. "Have you noticed that she is limping?"

* * *

"Wow, it must suck living with our principal." Trixie commented, falling back onto Sunset's bed with a huff before smiling slightly "though at least I know that you aren't abused or anything."

This earned a confused look from the former pony. "Abused? Why do you say that?"

Sunset asked, watching as the silver-haired girl blushed.

"Um...I may have worried about it after I noticed you limping." Trixie confessed, earning a sigh from the redhead.

"I promise, Neither of them hit me. Some jackass burned me with soup though." Sunset replied then added "you know, you're not that bad. I know I was a jerk to you...and I shouldn't have locked you in that room, though in my defense if you had pushed really hard on the door it would have come open, the lock was literally a table. But anyway, I am sorry. Also...you would have beat me as class president if I hadn't blackmailed Micro into changing the votes."

Sunset said, closing her eyes as she got lost in memories, however to her surprise besides an outburst of anger Trixie said: "wait! I beat you in the elections?"

Sunset sighed then and nodded, glancing away "yeah. That is kind of the reason I shut you in that room...but seriously that smoke bomb in the face kinda pissed me off."

"I bet you are glad for my stage magic now! Right?"

Sunset could practically hear Trixie's ego inflating as she said that but she couldn't help but chuckle as she remembered the stink bombs. "Yeah, I guess I am. Thanks again for giving me a chance Trix. I know I wouldn't be so quick to forgive someone if they made me feel like utter garbage."

Trixie sighed then, glancing over at the girl seeing the torn look on the redhead's face. "You know, I kinda think you would. I mean, Rainbow Dash told us about how you didn't want them to get those idiots back for dumping trash all over you. I can see you're not as tough as you wanted people to think but don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

* * *

"I'm glad that Sunset has at least a few friends. I've seen her around the school, alone. I was kind of worried that the girls wouldn't want to make friends with her." Luna said with a sigh, wincing as she heard what sounded like a guitar rift gone wrong come from upstairs.

"I know. I am surprised however that Trixie is one of the first to give her a chance." Celestia stated, chuckling a bit as another semi-musical screech came from upstairs. "But I really wish they would find something less...noisy to occupy their time."

"Hey, remember when Discord, Chrissy and I made that band in high school?" Luna retorted, smirking as Celestia sent her a look, arching a brow at her.

"You three only did that to drive me insane! Especially since the three of you would practice in the garage….which was right beside my bedroom!" Celestia pointed out, rolling her eyes as another sound echoed through the house, followed by a loud curse.

"And Sunset just reminded me of Discord." She added, standing and stretching before heading toward the stairs "I better go see who killed what. She sounded almost panicked."

"With our luck, something else exploded." Luna quipped, following behind her sister.

They found Sunset mumbling curses under her breath while nursing a rather bruised and bleeding hand. "Broken string?" Celestia guessed, as soon as she walked over to the opened door.

"What gave you the slightest clue?" Sunset said through clenched teeth though the two adults just shared a look before Luna decided to respond

"Because your rift sounded like a dying whale or because you screamed out a derogatory phrase at the top of your lungs?"

Sunset blushed at that, sharing a look with Trixie who looked uncomfortable and glanced between the three though Luna just looked amused at the whole ordeal.

"Go get cleaned up, I'll fix the guitar though I think you best take it easy until your hand heals." Luna commented before adding "And stop acting like I'm some flesh-eating demon or something...um...sorry Sunset."

Sunset glared at Luna before signing and responding "don't worry about it. I know what you meant."

After the former Bully left the room Trixie sighed and turned toward Luna.

"I think everyone should watch what they say around Sunset for a while. She's a bit sensitive right now."


	33. Chapter 33

Monday came almost too quickly for Sunset, who was not looking forward to returning to the chaos that most called high school. Of course, she dodged most of the other students by riding to school with Principal Celestia but there was only so much she could be protected from the other students and some of the teachers.

Sighing she looked at the mess that was her locker. She knew she shouldn't read the words painted on the door but an almost morbid curiosity compelled her to look anyway, though what she read made her breath want to catch in her throat.

Kill yourself! No one wants you here!

Go to hell.

Slut!

Whorse.

I hope you die!

Go back to hell, demon!

She closed her eyes in an attempt to stop the thoughts that filled her mind. _You deserve this. They have every right to hate you! Look what kind of pain that you caused everyone! Remember; no one wants to have anything to do with a screw-up!_

When she opened her eyes she could barely make out the words through the tears she struggled to hold back. _Did they sense the demon too? Is that why they never wrote me back? Why whenever I was forced back home for the holidays they chose to just ignore that it was anything special?_

The thought of holidays shoved another pin through her heart, especially since Thanksgiving was coming up. Trying to ignore it she entered her combination and grabbed what she needed for the first three classes, stuffing it into her backpack before slamming the door shut and heading back toward the office.

 _I'll stay in there until the bell rings for everyone to head to class. That way I won't have to deal with anyone_. She thought though suddenly someone stepped out in front of her.

"Sunset Shimmer, We need to talk."

Sunset couldn't help but feel a wave of fear shoot through her when she saw the irritated look on Applejack's face. "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" Sunset asked, only for the blonde to narrow her eyes at her.

"That depends, Sunset. Are you anon-a-miss?"

The question stung. Why didn't her friend, who was so sure she was innocent days before, think she was guilty?

"No of course not! I was grounded half the time that the account was active! You know this!" Sunset answered, her voice shaking as a few tears spilled over.

"Then explain how my nickname got all over social media!"

"I don't know!" Sunset answered, "I even deleted my accounts because of how the hate mail I was getting!"

Applejack narrowed her eyes as if trying to see the redhead's former self anywhere in the slumped, sobbing form of the other girl but found nothing that looked like it had been faked.

"Sunset, I'm sorry that Ah cornered ya like that but Ah was mad. Ah guess Ah automatically just thought of ya because of what happened freshman year and that wasn't fair of me." Applejack said honestly, blushing and glancing down at her boots.

"Its okay Applejack, I understand. I probably would assume the worst in someone too if they had a history like I have." Sunset stated before bolting, leaving a stunned Applejack standing in the middle of the hall.

* * *

Sunset had managed to avoid everyone all morning, skipping the classes that she shared with any of the girls however as lunch rolled around she found herself unsure. _What do I do? Do I apologize for running away from Applejack this morning and sit with them? What if they all think I am Anon-a-miss?_

She was so lost in thought that she didn't even realize she had walked right into someone until she found herself sitting on the ground.

"Sorry, I…" she began, however suddenly she was overpowered by two sets of hands.

"I'll teach you to show your face again around here, Denon-bitch!"

* * *

She felt as if she couldn't breathe as the door slammed shut, images of sapphire eyes glaring down at her flashing in her mind's eye. She could hear laughter coming from outside, voices jeering though in her panic she couldn't make out what they were saying. A whimper died in her throat as she pulled her knees to her chest, eyes threatening to spill over.

It won't help to beg. You know that! No one will want to let you out! You're too much trouble. She thought as her mind flashed to Celestia, though she quickly pushed that thought away She won't care! She doesn't see you as anything but a charity case. you're just the fool who wants too much, like always!

She didn't know how long that she had been in there, only that it felt as if the air itself was becoming thinner by the second, threatening to choke her. She knew she was crying, so much in fact that when the door opened she couldn't see who was standing in front of her.

She could hear a voice speaking to her, though she couldn't make out what it was saying. That was until a hand touched her, a familiar warmth, like that of sunlight running across her skin and prompting her to look up.

"It's okay, you're safe."

As if she was still a child she flung herself at her savior then, hurrying her face against her shoulder. She wanted to say something, to thank her or anything else but the words wouldn't form.


	34. Chapter 34

Sunset glared at her phone as it began to vibrate in her hands again, calling her attention off of her game. _If you weren't so damn expensive I'd throw you at the wall right now._ She thought bitterly as she saw that it was Applejack calling her, though she ignored it.

 _They don't really want to be friends, if they were really my friends they wouldn't be so quick to just start thinking the worst in me!_ She thought though a hand suddenly enveloped her shoulder, causing her to flinch and look up only to see Celestia standing over her.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" She asked, watching as the girl seemed to just shrink down into the couch at the question.

"No. I mean, one of their secrets leaked somehow and then it was all eyes on me! I am so done with everything! I just...what's the use of trying when everyone just sees me as the worst?" Sunset responded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, I don't think you're the worst. A little misguided at times but not the worst." Celestia said, sitting beside of her before adding "Luna wants to spend the day together with you tomorrow since I don't exactly trust that the students won't do something worse."

She didn't expect the teen to scowl down at the carpet. "what? You don't trust me to stay here alone?" Sunset accused, earning a sigh

"That's not it Sunset, we just don't want you to feel lonely. I think you've been alone long enough." Celestia explained calmly, brushing a strand of hair from Sunset's face.

Sunset couldn't help but smile slightly at the gestures though she quickly pushed the thoughts from her mind. _Stop it Sunset, You can't let yourself stoop that low._ She thought, bitterness filling her as she glanced over once again at the woman.

"I'd be fine on my own, I'm not a baby!" The fiery-haired girl snapped, although one glance at the woman Sunset was surprised by the unreadable look she was getting.

"I never said you wouldn't be." Celestia responded, her voice the same unchanging calm as if they were having a regular conversation, reminding Sunset of the aloof or even nonchalant tones she had become used to from the princess, and it infuriated her.

 _See? It would be just the same!_

"You totally just did! You literally just said you don't want me to be here alone! I don't know who the hell you're trying to fool but…" Sunset let the words die on her lips when she saw the woman's hand move toward her. Closing her eyes tightly Sunset waited for whatever outcome that would befall her.

The familiar warmth gripping her shoulder, prompting her to open her eyes. "I don't appreciate your tone but I think you misunderstand my intentions. Both Luna and I can see how everything is affecting you and I figured you could use someone to talk to and Luna would understand a lot better than I would."

 _wait...is she not angry? How is she not? I insulted her I…_ Sunset felt that familiar tightness in her chest. "Sunset," Celestia's voice cut through her thoughts "You're overwhelmed. I do understand, but it isn't exactly fair to lash out at everyone now is it?"

Sunset could only manage a negative shake of her head at that though to her surprise she found herself being gently forced to look up at the woman, who was now smiling knowingly

"I'm not upset with you and even if I was, it wouldn't change a thing."


	35. Chapter 35

"So what did she say?" Rainbow asked as she sat down at the table the next day, wearing a senior varsity jacket that was slightly too big for her, which earned her a few odd looks from the group.

"Well it's obvious ah hurt her feelings but she did text me back late last night apologizing for being unresponsive. She said she understands that ah overreacted a bit, though she said she isn't coming to school today and maybe tomorrow." Applejack answered before adding "and speaking of Sunset, she's gonna put two and two together if she ain't already. Now, why won't you just tell her?"

Rainbow looked confused for a moment before glancing down at her jacket, realization dawning on her though she shrugged "Dunno, just never came up. I mean, I'm sure she knows because like she had blackmail material on the whole school!"

"Whatever ya say Rainbow Dash, but Ah still say one of ya'll better tell her before she starts thinkin' ya don't trust her. Ah already made a right fool of myself and probably made her feel worse than she already did."

"Don't be so hard on yourself darling, you just made a mistake that anyone could have and at least you had the gall to apologize for it." Rarity stated, earning a hint of a grin from the farm girl.

"Yeah, I mean….None of us really trusted Sunset in those first few days." Fluttershy pointed out earning a collective nod from the group.

"Speaking of not trusting people. I don't particularly trust Trixie." Rainbow Dash added, earning a sigh from Rarity.

"Well, she is…..a challenge…but Sweetie Belle mentioned last night that Trixie and the Crusaders are planning something to find out who Anon-A-miss is. Now How they are gonna do that, I don't how they are going to do so, but they are wanting to try."

* * *

Sunset sighed as she sat in the passenger seat of Luna's car, staring out the window as she attempted to drown out the bitterness that threatened to put her in a bad mood. She knew that she wasn't being fair, especially since Luna hadn't really didn't do anything to annoy her.

"Do you want to stop somewhere to get some breakfast?" Luna asked, earning a sigh from the teen.

"Sure, sorry if I'm not in the mood for conversation." Sunset asked, earning a chuckle from Luna who just shrugged "It's early and I get it, you'd much rather not deal with an adult around, especially not your vice principal."

* * *

"See when the last post was and if it was from mobile. That will give us an idea of where to start." Trixie said, earning a nod as the three younger students turned their attention to their phones.

"I know everyone has a reason to hate Sunset but who could be this cruel? To make everyone hate her ten times more?" Trixie thought aloud, not noticing that someone was in the part of the library that they were using.

"Wait, you actually believe that Sunset Shimmer is innocent in this whole mess?"

Trixie whirled around to see a girl with blue and pink hair standing there with her arms crossed.

"I know she's not." Trixie answered, "I just wish I could tell you how I know."

"Sunset may have been a jerk before but she never was bad enough to make comments about people's families!" Scootaloo stated through clenched teeth, prompting her friends to look over her shoulder.

"No one outside of our class and rainbow dash even knows about that!" Applebloom exclaimed, earning a confused look.

"Can I see your phone a second? If you all are so sure she is innocent I'll help. Besides that, I want to kick Anon-a-miss's ass for making Lyra cry herself to sleep last night."

They watched as Sweetie drops produced a laptop from her bag, smirking as she took a seat on the floor and plugged the phone up to it. "A lot of people don't know I use to be very good friends with Microchips.I might not be as good at technology but I can hack well enough to get a lock on anon's location."

They all watched over her shoulder as she typed away at her computer, smirking as the screen suddenly showed the email address associated with the account.

"Bingo, Here we go! Now, who would use the words 'beautyful_Princess_Better_than_you' as their screen name? I mean seriously...Even Trixie's Email is Greatest_magician72." Sweetie drops commented, smirking at the surprised look on the magician's face "it's on your mystable account dummy."

* * *

Luna could tell that something was really bothering Sunset, something deeper than what the teen would have admitted. Sighing she glanced out of the window, suddenly getting an idea. "How about we go see a movie after we get done? Celestia basically said to make sure you enjoyed the day, but no specifics on what we couldn't do."

Sunset sighed as she glanced up at the woman, offering a weak smile at the offer. "Thanks, Luna, I just...don't really feel like doing much of anything...besides what kind of movie would we agree on?" She responded, returning her attention to poke at the pancake in front of her.

"Sunset Shimmer, Just because you are still upset at what is going on doesn't mean you can torture yourself. Believe me when I say that it will help nothing in the long run." Luna sighed, as she reached across the table to grip the girl's free hand as she added: "If you do, you let them win."

"What do you know about dealing with idiots like Runt and Hoops? You probably had tons of friends when you went to school." Sunset snapped, stabbing the pancake before moving her hand away from Luna and looking away.

"Three actually. Celestia was the one who was popular, not me. A matter a fact, You have more friends than I did at your age." Luna replied, watching the girl for signs she was paying attention before continuing "I had two friends during high school: Chrissy and Discord. Celestia actually used to...tease me about my...lack of social skills."

"Wait, but you two get along. How did that happen?"

* * *

"You're the idiot who ran into a door!"

"Oh shut up! How did I know they would open the door right when I had walked behind it!"

Sweetie Drops facepalmed at the two girl's bickering as she shook her head. "You're both idiots!"

This, of course, attracted the attention of passing students though most just wrote it off as just something Trixie did and just cast them a look.

"Hey! I am not!"

"Well, you did walk into a door!"

"The great and…"

"Okay we get it, you two really can't work together!" Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both said at the same time, making the bickering pair to shut up.

"Okay, I didn't want to get anyone else involved but I think I can get Lyra talk to Micro. If she can't guilt him into helping us no one can." Sweetie Drops sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as if it would help wane her growing frustration.


	36. Chapter 36

Luna chuckled as she watched as Sunset turn about three different shades of green at the sight on the screen. "I take it you don't watch horror much. Regretting your choice in what movie to watch?" she whispered, watching as Sunset's cheeks flushed.

"No!" Sunset hissed under her breath though Luna could see through the act, though she knew better than to mention it again. However after the movie, Luna couldn't resist the temptation of rubbing it in, even if just a little.

"I bet you'll sleep well after that." She teased, earning a shudder from the teen who responded: "I don't think I'll ever sleep again!"

Luna laughed softly at that as she put a hand on her shoulder. "It's just a movie. Something that someone thought up to scare the shit out of others. No one is going to enter your dreams, I don't think that is even possible."

"Fine but let's keep this a secret between us. I don't need people knowing I am claustrophobic and a wimp when it comes to horror flicks." Sunset stated, surprised when an arm wrapped around her.

"Don't worry, This Is between us but don't be surprised if next Halloween I decide to give you a bit of a scare." Luna stated, smirking when the girl glared up at her.

"You wouldn't dare!"

Luna smirked at that as she retorted "You wanna try me?"

* * *

"Wait, So Sunset didn't post those awful things?" Lyra asked, earning a sigh from Sweetie Drops who shook her head.

"Nope. Evidently, she's been grounded for the whole mess at the fall formal or something and well...I may have traced the email down to an IP address and Sunset's current IP address is far different." Sweetie Drops answered with a shrug then added: "I don't trust Sunset but she isn't behind this."

"Sunset has changed...I found her crying in the green room about a week ago. Plus, she literally doesn't care about who goes with whom. I think she would find something better to embarrass you with since she doesn't see it as a huge deal."

This earned a surprised look from both of the other girls. "Really? How do you know that?" They both asked, earning a sigh.

"She said it herself at a sleepover the other night when that was posted. Pinkie read anon-a-Miss's post about you two aloud and Sunset literally just shrugged it off and before you want to blame her...She didn't have her phone on her at the time because she borrowed my charger."

Lyra seemed deep in thought for a moment before smiling "alright, I'll help. I mean, no one deserves to be lied on like that."


	37. Chapter 37

It was late when Celestia got home, though she was relieved to find a warm meal prepared and Luna crashed in front of the TV, though Sunset was nowhere in sight.

"How was your day? I am going to assume Sunset didn't decide to bolt on you." Celestia said as she hung up her coat.

"She crashed up in her room after dinner. Don't be such a mother hen, the girl's going to be fine." Luna answered with a chuckle though Celestia just sank into the recliner before replying wearily: "This Anon-a-miss thing on top of the whole power hungry fiasco at the dance has really worn her down. I am worried about her."

"Yes, I have noticed that. Today she was a bit...zoned out." Luna stated, sighing as she added: "though she did relax some after I let her decide on the movie we went to watch, though I think she regretted that choice."

Celestia chose to ignore the implications of that sentence "What do you think we should do about this anonymous account? I don't want to get the authorities involved unless absolutely necessary."

Luna scoffed at that as she fixed the older woman with a look "he or she is an overzealous brat trying to place blame on someone else. I say give it a few more days before deciding. I mean Sunset….well it still won't clear her name right away since students want to believe it is her."

Neither of them had noticed that someone had been coming down the stairs until she heard the door upstairs slam shut. Both women glanced at each other before Luna motioned toward the stairway. "You're the one she lives with. You deal with it….whatever it is."

" _she is an overzealous brat trying to place blame on someone else. I say give it a few more days before deciding. I mean Sunset…."_

Sunset thought as she slammed a fist into the door before locking it, as if on second thought before sinking down onto the floor. She couldn't stop the tears as they came, though she tried to choke back any sound that threatened to come from her.

 _You dared hope...you dared to think that this time would be different. That this time you wouldn't end up totally alone. Damn it! Why do you even try? You're still that pathetic, naive filly that kept fucking up!_

"Sunset Shimmer? Are you alright?"

 _Why the fuck do you care?_ Sunset thought as she wiped away the tears although she just bit out "Go Away!"

Celestia sighed as she heard the girl's voice cracking with emotion though when she tried to open the door she found it locked. She sighed, feeling as if she should say something else to encourage the girl to open up.

"Sunset…" she began only to hear something slam against the door, causing her to take a full step back. _What could have set her off? I have never seen her act like this._ Celestia wondered as she heard the girl's voice say: "I said go away! I don't want to talk to you or anyone else!"

Sunset couldn't help but began to sob once she heard the footfall retreating back toward the stairs. _Yeah, you really care about me! You didn't even try to get me to tell you what's wrong!_ She thought before making up her mind. _I won't give you a chance to tell me to leave, I won't let you see how much it hurts!_

Trixie was half asleep when she heard something banging on her window, causing her to fall out of bed in shock before grabbing the first weapon she could find, which happened to be a bowling pin she had stashed under her bed. However, when she opened the curtain she relaxed when she saw it was just Sunset.

"What the heck Sunset Shimmer? Don't you know you could get hurt sneaking around others houses like that at this hour?" she grumbled before seeing the tears that practically cascaded down the other girl's face. "What happened?"

Trixie helped the sobbing girl climb through the window before helping her settle onto the bed before repeating the question: "Sunset, what happened?"

Sunset wasn't sure what she should say. If she told the truth then Trixie would probably confront Celestia, which would undoubtedly end badly though on the other hand, she knew that if she didn't tell the magician the truth she would keep pestering her.

"I overheard the principals talking...about me…" Sunset managed to answer after a few minutes of just sitting there, staring blankly at the floor. "They blame me for the mess at school too and...I think they were talking about kicking me out. I mean...I didn't expect it to be permanent but..."

"You were hoping?" Trixie guessed, putting a hand on Sunset's before adding "are you sure that they were talking about you?" Sunset glared at her before the expression resolved once again into a heartrending one. "They said my name, Trixie. Of course, they were talking about me."


	38. Chapter 38

Trixie glanced over at Sunset, who was sleeping curled up on Trixie's bed. The magician couldn't wrap her mind around what the redhead had told her. _It just doesn't seem like either Celestia or Luna to be so quick to give up on someone because of a rumor._ She thought as she turned her attention to her phone, her brow furrowed as she mentally debated what to do.

 _Sunset got like thirty calls and texts before she turned off her phone...maybe I should call Celestia and tell her where Sunset is? I mean, what if Sunset just misinterpreted what was said? But then again, I could just end up getting Sunset hurt and I would be breaking her trust._

Sighing she lay back on the floor, closing her eyes as she tried to weight the pros and cons of the whole thing. She was so lost in thought that when a sudden yelp cut through the air she bolted straight up, hitting her head on the shelf behind her in the process.

"What the?" she began, though she quickly realized that the source of the noise was Sunset herself. The former unicorn was curled up on the bed, shaking in her sleep. Getting to her feet Trixie walked over, putting a hand on Sunset's arm only for the sleeping girl to pull back.

"Please no! I'm sorry!"

Trixie nearly took a step back as she heard the panic in Sunset's voice, though as she saw tears silently coursing down Sunset's face she made a snap decision. _That's it, I need to do something._

"Sunset, wake up." she said this barely above a whisper as she gingerly placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder, hearing her whimper once more as she moved away from the touch. "Sunset, It's me...Trixie. You need to wake up."

Sunset felt as if her heart was going to burst as she sat up, wrapping herself in Trixie's blanket as she tried to fight both panic and embarrassment. "That was some nightmare, do you want to talk about it?" Trixie promoted, taking a seat beside of her on the bed.

"No. Not really. It's just mental images caused by my warped mind and crap from my past." Sunset responded bitterly as she pulled her knees to her chest as she tried to fight the images that formed in her mind.

Trixie carefully put a hand on Sunset's back, feeling the thick bandages beneath her shirt. "You're soaked through with sweat. We're nearly the same size, I think I have some pajamas that will fit you if you want to take a shower to calm down." She suggested softly.

Once Sunset vanished into the bathroom Trixie grabbed her phone, smirking when she saw that Sunset didn't have a password set. _Well, that helps me out. Though I doubt Sunset will appreciate this._ She thought as she clicked on the most recent text, typing the number into her own phone before turning off and replacing Sunset's on the table.

* * *

"So you live here alone?" Sunset asked as she dried her hair, earning a sigh and nod.

"Yeah, my parents are business people after all. They travel, a lot." Trixie said with a shrug before adding "my uncle is pretty cool though. So I don't mind, most of the time."

Suddenly a knock came at the door causing Trixie to smirk.

"Wait here, I'll be right back."


	39. Chapter 39

"Why are **you** here? Don't pretend you even care! I heard what you said to Luna!"

Trixie watched in amazement as Celestia stood there, letting Sunset jab at her chest while yelling at her. "you're just like everyone else! You pretend to care only as long as _**you**_ get some kind of outcome from it! Nothing will ever change, I guess nothing can change when nothing is there!"

Celestia saw the scowl contort into a forlorn look as Sunset turned her back to her. She noticed the girl's hunched posture and how she wrapped her arms around herself. "Sunset, What do you think you heard?" she asked, steeling herself for another wave of the teen's temper.

"I know what you said! I heard you! Luna said I'm nothing but a brat that places blame on everyone else! Just tell me the truth, you're planning on kicking me out." Sunset snapped, her voice suddenly breaking.

 _Don't give her the satisfaction of seeing you cry. Don't let her know how much it hurts._ Sunset thought as she stood there, however, suddenly she felt an arm wrap around her from behind.

"Sunset, we weren't talking about kicking you out and Luna may call you a brat _but_ you weren't who she was talking about," Celestia said, though her tone wasn't condescending or judgmental.

"Then who?" Sunset snapped, earning a chuckle.

"Sunset, we were talking about anon-a-miss. I was telling Luna that I was planning to get the authorities involved if this didn't stop." Celestia explained earning a watery glare as the girl turned toward her.

"Then why did you mention me by name?" Sunset retorted, only to hear a light chuckle from the woman "what?"

"Sunset we were talking about how this whole mess affected you. Don't think we don't notice what is going on with you but sometimes we're not sure how to help." Celestia answered gently, watching as the girl's cheeks flushed.

"And once again I acted like an idiot." Sunset mumbled as she glanced away, only to find herself pulled into a hug.

"No Sunset. You were hurting and I can only imagine how badly. But I did mean what I said when I said that nothing would change. No matter what happens."

"Even if I lose my temper?" Sunset challenge with a timid smile, looking up at the woman who returned the grin.

"Sunset, I don't expect you to change who you are just because you moved in with me."

 **A/N;**

 **I have a lot of ideas for this but i have no idea how to execute them. Any suggestions?**


	40. Chapter 40

Sunset sighed as she stabbed the pancake for what seemed to be the fifth time since she had sat down at the table. She didn't know what to say or even if it was a good idea, especially since the fiasco she had caused the previous night. _How could I be so stupid? I hope that Celestia isn't too ticked off about last night._ She thought as she glanced across the table at the woman, who was currently drinking a cup of coffee.

"Don't you think it's already dead?" her instructor asked, a ghost of a smile coming over her face. Sunset felt her face turn red as she turned her attention back to her breakfast, although she didn't say anything in response. They ate in silence for some time before Celestia spoke again.

"I better go get ready for school...um...I really am sorry for everything that happened last night, I overreacted and…well…. I hope you can forgive me." the bacon-haired girl said as she left the room, leaving a dumbfounded Celestia sitting at the at the table. _What part of not being angry doesn't Sunset understand? I guess that will be a conversation for our commute this morning._

* * *

"Morning Sunset Shimmer!"

Sunset yelped as she whirled around to face the sudden voice, only to see Bon Bon standing behind her, arms crossed as Lyra stood a good distance behind her.

"What do you want?" Sunset replied, not in the mood for anyone's drama that morning though the pink and blue haired girl just held up her hands "Relax Fire-head, we come in peace. The three Musketeers and the walking disaster explained what was happening on mystable and we agreed to help. Meet us in the upstairs hallway. The one with the faulty lighting that no one uses."

Sunset didn't exactly trust the other teens but another part of her was curious about what they could be wanting to tell her. She followed them, relaxing when she saw Rainbow Dash and the others standing there waiting on them. "What's going on?"

Rainbow Dash looked beyond irritated, though Spitfire's hand on her shoulder seemed to keep her somewhat level-headed. "we think that you should see this...we found who anon-a-miss is." Lyra said, pulling out her phone, pulling up a video on the screen.

Sunset barely could focus on what she was seeing as the muscles in her chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe.

 **"I don't think this is a good idea, I mean...everyone already hates her."**

 **"Who cares? She's a monster after all! I mean, you remember what that thing looked like that she turned into at the dance! No one would care even if she died!"**

The words from the video seemed to be stuck on repeat in her mind. _Monster...Everyone hates me…Demon._ She didn't even notice that she was crying until she felt a hand on her arm. "Ignore those two idiots, they would be assholes to a stray kitten!" Scootaloo said though Sunset drew away from the touch.

"I've gotta go!" Sunset said, rushing off toward before anyone could say anything else. Rainbow took a step in the direction the bacon haired girl had gone, however, AJ took hold of her arm.

"Let her be Sugarcube. This is a lot for her to take in."

Rainbow Dash sighed then and nodded, though as she crossed her arms over her chest and muttered "Fine but when and if I see those two little brats I am going to give them a taste of their own medicine for making Sunset's life hell."

* * *

Trixie sighed as walked into gym class, one of the only classes that she shared with Sunset. She had already heard from the others that Sunset had skipped the first few classes of the day. When Trixie saw a familiar red and yellow-haired figure slouching on the highest part of the bleachers she let out a relieved sigh.

 _I understand why she would be so down but I don't think I have ever seen her quite like this._ She thought as she walked over to where her friend was sitting, taking note of the yellow-skinned girls' bloodshot eyes.

"Are you okay? I know that it hurts especially because of two eighth graders trying to ruin your life." The magician said, brow creasing with worry as the bacon haired girl nodded her response.

Sunset didn't trust her voice so she remained silent. She knew that her newfound group of friends genuinely cared but yet, something inside of her questioned everyone's intentions. _Why do they care so much? I'm nothing but a monster. I almost killed six people and I would have been to blame for a lot more deaths had my plans succeeded._ She wondered, remembering how the fire had felt between her hands as darkness controlled her actions.

 _How stupid could I have been? Mom and Dad were right, Sunburst is smarter than I ever was...I should have never been born._

Trixie saw the silent tears that had begun to roll down the redhead's face. One part of the young magician would have preferred to have been on the receiving end of Sunset's rage than to see her as down as she was currently. _I wish I was actually good at magic. Maybe then I could at least cheer her up a little bit._ She thought as she tried to figure out what could make the girl feel better.

"You know, I think that I have an idea of how you could get those two brats back!" she exclaimed after a few minutes of thought, however, this only earned a half-hearted glare from the former bully.

"But I deserve everything that has happened to me! What don't you guys understand about that?"

Trixie sighed then before standing, turning toward Sunset with her hands on her hips as she stared down at the other girl. "I won't lie. You were pretty horrible before but I don't see how you deserve any of what is happening to you."

Trixie began, inwardly wincing at her own harshness but she knew that Sunset needed to hear this. "I mean, you had scalding liquids and trash dumped on you! I mean I understand why people are giving you the cold shoulder but no one deserves to be afraid to even sit alone."

Sunset couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was Trixie that stupid? Didn't she understand what Sunset had done? "Yes, I do! I deserve everything that they do to me! I broke up friendships, blackmailed and lied to everyone not to mention I even shoved you in a closet and nearly murdered six students!" she shouted, drawing the attention of everyone in the gym onto them.

"Yes, you did do all of that! But you _**never**_ brought up the more personal secrets or problems that other people may have had. I know for a fact that you never brought up that I was an orphan or that Scootaloo lives with her aunts. You never stooped that low." Trixie reminded her, seeing the physical wince from the bacon-haired girl.

"Oh shut up Trixie! She turned into a demon!"

Before either of the girls could say anything, however, Soarin walked over to the boy who had spoken. "Shut up Heath! Now unless you want me to tell the coach you're bullying two students get back to whatever you were doing!"

 _Why is he standing up for me? I posted a video of him wiping out when he tried out for volleyball that one year. I know I never was nice to any of the teams. So why..._

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of someone walking up the bleachers toward them, though she relaxed when she saw that it was just Soarin'.

"Don't listen to 'em, anyone who was outside that night could see that you tried to take off the crown before you went into full harpy mode."


	41. Chapter 41

"Oh come on Sunset! They totally deserve it after what everyone started doing to you since the whole Anon-a-miss mess started!" Rainbow Dash stated while she kicked a ball past Sunset, bouncing it off the bleachers.

"Yeah, but shouldn't I forgive others if I want to finally be forgiven?" the fire-haired girl responded, earning a sigh from the prism haired athlete.

"There's a difference between being forgiving and being a complete doormat."

Sunset stood there in silence for some time, eyes trained on the ground as she weighed the pros and cons of Rainbow's suggestion. _is it worth the trouble? After all, I do live with Celestia now and she is sure to find out._ "I don't know Rainbow, I mean I don't want to risk ticking my mom off." she said after a few minutes.

I _really need to stop calling her that. No need to freak the poor woman out by accidentally calling her that to her face, even if she acts like a mom_. shaking the thought off Sunset added: "Besides, I don't want to make people think I'm still queen bitch."

* * *

Sunset felt anger consume her when she saw the two responsible for this whole mess, though one part of her felt guilty over the thoughts of revenge that filled her mind. *it isn't so wrong, is it? I just want them to feel the same hurt and humiliation I felt.* she thought as she walked toward the two girls, who were already being interrogated by Rainbow Dash and Spitfire.

"So you two are the brats who decided to make my life a living hell?" she demanded, not noticing how she was drawing attention to herself but she didn't care.

"You didn't give a damn what happened when you started posting as anon-a-miss! Bet you don't even have an excuse do you? Do you Diamond Tiara?" Rainbow joined in, just as loudly.

"Wait, they're Anon-A-Miss?"

"Oh shit, Sunset looks pissed!"

Sunset smirked as she heard this. _Yeah I'm pissed and I'm hurt_ , she thought t _hough they don't need to know that last part._ " what should I do with the two of you?"

She let the words hang ominously in the air, watching their faces pale in fear as they took a step back. She wanted to laugh but she didn't, lest she ruined the effect. "You wouldn't dare do anything to us! We'll have you kicked out of school!"

Diamond Tiara's response made her even more irritated. _If_ _ **that**_ _is how I acted toward Kibitz and the others when I was Celestia's student someone needs to go back in time and backhand past me in the mouth. No wonder the Princess said I didn't earn being an alicorn! What I earned a smack upside the head!_

"So what?" She retorted, smirking "do I look like I care?"

In truth she did and she also cared how much trouble she was going to be in over this but these girls had been insufferable! Pushing her worry to the back of her mind she grabbed both of them by their shirts, thanking whatever Gods out there that she was still somewhat stronger than a normal human.

"You know, I could beat you into the middle of next month but you're just two bratty little kids. But there is no way I'm letting you two go." she said, pushing them against the dumpster behind them, careful not to really hurt them.

"Posting secrets and lies, making fun of people who don't have what you deem families or making fun of something someone did as a toddler. You know where people like you deserve to be?" she snarled, trying not to wince at her own voice before she let them go into the trash.

"Sunset Shimmer!"

No sooner than she had dropped them Luna's voice cut through the noise.

* * *

"Just what were you girls thinking, if anything at all? After all this talk about change, you turn around and pull a stunt like this. I can't tell you how disappointed I am at you right now!"

Sunset glanced down as Celestia paced behind her desk. She had heard that tone on multiple occasions as a filly but right now she was too scared to speak.

"Those girls could have been seriously hurt! Did you ever stop to think through what could have happened? I am lucky that their parents seem more concerned about their whole involvement with anon-a-miss."

Celestia sighed as she returned to her seat as she asked: "do you have anything you want to say?" to which Sunset shook her head.

"I have no choice but to suspend you for three days, so I suggest you go get your stuff miss shimmer."

Luna watched as Sunset rushed passed her, nearly knocking her down in her rush. "Please tell me you didn't lose your temper with her. She just shoved past me like a bat out of hell." she sighed as she walked into Celestia's office.

She watched as her sister deflated "How bad was it with Mr. And Mrs. Rich?" Celestia asked instead. Causing the blue-skinned woman to sigh.

"Filthy Rich was furious...at his daughter, said that he was surprised getting dunked into the trash was the worse thing that came out of this shenanigans. Even told his wife to shut up when she started her shit." Luna answered before taking a seat in the seat that Sunset had been occupying as she added "now what did you say to Miss. Shimmer?"

"Are you okay?"

Sunset tried to wipe all the tears away before turning to face Lyra.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I am suspended for the rest of the week, however." she answered, trying to be nonchalant about it but the words " **if anything at all? After all this talk about change, you turn around and pull a stunt like this. I can't tell you how disappointed I am at you!"** repeated in her mind.

With that, she grabbed her backpack and headed toward the front office. Celestial seemed a lot calmer when she entered the office. "Luna will take you home in a few minutes but we will talk about this later."

Sunset managed a nod as she took a seat, not making eye contact as she as she took a seat near the door. She didn't expect Celestia to say anything else and was surprised when the woman came over to her. "I want you to think about what could have happened today and what you could have done differently."

her voice wasn't angry, Sunset noted though she would rather have had anger directed at her than the look she saw when she looked up. "Yes, ma'am." the former unicorn managed as she looked down to avoid the disappointment in her mentor's eyes.

"Also, you're grounded for the next week. Does that seem fair?" again Sunset nodded though this time she felt a hand run through her hair.  
 _usually she'd complain. Did I say something that..._ Celestia sighed, she could worry about that in two hours which would give them both time to process everything.

Celestia wanted to say more but as soon as Luna opened the door Sunset walked out. "I think whatever you said earlier really hurt her. I'll see if I can do some damage control." Luna said with a sigh before following the girl.


	42. Chapter 42

_**After all this talk about change, you turn around and pull a stunt like this. I can't tell you how disappointed I am at you right now**_.

Celestia winced at her words from earlier that day as they repeated in her mind. _I could have handled her a lot better._ she thought as she glanced toward the stairs. _and sending her home with Luna didn't help either._ sighing she headed into the kitchen, hoping that she could manage to apologize to the emotionally driven girl or if she had messed up completely.

 _You know she is in a fragile place emotionally yet you let your frustration overflow right on her! She already felt horrible and you obviously made it worse!_

Sunset was sitting on her bed, a half packed suitcase opened in front of her. She knew she probably should finish packing but she couldn't bring herself to without tears blinding her. _this is what you get for hoping. One screw up and you're back alone_. she thought bitterly, not even noticing Celestia standing in the doorway.

"Sunset? What are you doing?"

The question caused the teen in question to let out a squeak of surprise before she replied in a sharp tone "packing, what does it look like?"

"I see." Celestia began, weighing her words mentally before saying anything "Can we talk for a bit? Then if _**you**_ still want to leave I won't stop you."

The woman was almost taken aback by the glare she received from the fiery-haired girl. "What? So you can tell me how embarrassed I made you? That you wish that you never agreed to help me? That I'll never change?"

*is that what she thinks? That I am ashamed of her?* Celestia wondered, eyes growing wide at the accusations. "No, I came to apologize."

"W–what?"

Celestia sighed as she moved to take a seat on the bed, right in front of the bewildered teen. "What you did was wrong, yes. But I was anything but patient or fair and I am sorry. I said something that implied I didn't think you had changed and I was wrong to do so because you have proved to me you're a good person just a bit high strung and because I Should have never said anything so hurtful. I hope you can forgive me."

A heavy silence fell over the room as Sunset shifted nervously on the bed, refusing to look at the woman. _she isn't going to tell me to get out? She was angry earlier_. Sunset became suddenly aware of a hand gingerly running through her hair, the touch feather light as if her self-made guardian was afraid to frighten her. She risked a glance up, smiling slightly as she leaned into the touch.

"I thought about it like you said. I understand why it was a huge deal. They're just kids and we could have seriously hurt them. I just wanted to embarrass them, like what happened to me." Sunset confessed after a while not pulling away, despite looking down " I hope you're not in trouble because of me."

Celestia took note of the worry in Sunset's tone. "Mr. Rich may be a sleazeball as you kids would put it but he called this exactly what it was, teenaged tomfoolery and Luna did say he broke Diamond's phone in the parking lot. So I think my job will be back to normal soon enough."

Sunset let out a breath that she wasn't aware that she was holding though hearing the usually proper speaking woman saying something like sleazeball made her want to laugh.

"So besides me being under house arrest for the next week, we're cool?"

Celestia couldn't help but chuckle then.

"Yeah, we're cool." Celestia was relieved when Sunset actually let out a small laugh thought she continued "I don't expect you to be perfect, nobody is despite what they would like others to believe and even if we do argue or I get angry I want you to remember that I still love you."

Sunset felt as if she was going to pass out as her thoughts short-circuited _she couldn't mean that how could anyone love a monster?_ she could feel her eyes burning though she tried to control herself.

"Do you mean it? That you actually l-love me?" her voice faltered on the word love, the one word that she had become accustomed to not hearing directed at her. She half expected to hear 'of course, I love all of my students.' tacked on but to her surprise, the answer she received was the one she had longed to hear long ago.

"Yes, of course, I mean it."

Sunset couldn't keep her tears at bay then, moving forward and hugging the woman. "I love you too." she muttered, smiling despite the bolt of fear that suddenly ran through her.

 _what does this mean? What if this is a trick to punish me for embarrassing her? My mom would._...she tried to stop the thoughts before they got started. Celestia wasn't like that, She knew.

"It has been so long since anyone has told me that." she confessed tearfully, nuzzling into the woman shoulder as she tried to calm down but it was almost as if her heart had shattered, resulting in everything she had felt over the course of the month to just boil to the surface.

"I was afraid you came to tell me I had to leave." she found herself admitting "I don't want to be alone again." she felt Celestia's arms tighten around ber.

"Sunset, you will always have a home here. Please don't ever think that anything would make me turn my back on you. We're family, albeit a strange and nontraditional one and family don't give up on each other."

"Are you sure you want me?"

Celestia winced at the sound of desperation in the teen's voice.

"Yes Sunset, I'm sure."


	43. Chapter 43

Sunset never understood why people complained about being grounded, but now as she was stuck inside the house without her phone or computer she thought she was going crazy. Laying on the couch, listening to the radio Celestia had left on that morning she tried to focus on her school work but nothing seemed to break her out of the torture that was the boredom.

"Do you ever get tired of being inside that cage?" she asked Philomena, which cawed in response before returning its attention to preening its feathers. Sunset sighed then, falling back onto the couch. I could wake-up Ray but...that would stress him out and I could play my guitar but my hand still is sore from that broken string.

She closed her eyes as she tried to think of something to do, or rather something that wouldn't end up getting her into even more trouble. But she was getting stir crazy and wanted to do nothing more but to get out for a while. If I do yard work...maybe she won't be too mad about me going outside.

Celestia came home to find Sunset Raking the leaves out of the yard. Though what really surprised her was that the girl was singing. "I didn't know you could sing." she commented, trying not to laugh when Sunset dropped the rake in surprise before whirling around to face her.

"Miss. Celestia, I…"

The principal just rolled her eyes at the teen's panicked tone, quickly closing the distance between them. "I thought we were past the formalities?" she questioned, allowing herself a hint of a smile before adding "we'll finish the yard later. Right now I think we could both probably use something to warm us up. Then you can explain where you learned to sing that well."

"So you're not upset? I mean I wasn't supposed to leave the house." Sunset asked, knowing she was basically signing her own death warrant but she had to know what the woman was planning.

"Is that why you acted like I was going to suddenly sprout two heads? Sunset, you were out in the yard in your PJs and a jacket. You obviously hadn't been anywhere and I am not so strict that I am going to nitpick over every little thing. Now if you had, for example, went somewhere or retrieved your phone then yes, there would be consequences." Celestia responded, putting an arm around the redhead. "But despite what you may think, I trust you."

* * *

The next two days passed in a similar fashion, although Sunset had taken to spending time in Celestia's greenhouse, relishing in not only the heat of the building (which reminded her of summer) but also the odd wave of nostalgia she got while inside.

"I see you are here again. Celestia told me you had taken to the plants." Luna's voice suddenly caught her off guard. Causing her to whirl around to face the woman. Just how long have I been in here? Has school let out already?

"It reminds me of someplace from my f...childhood." Sunset answered honestly, a ghost of a smile on her face as she thought about the imperial gardens of canterlot castle. "Most of the time I don't miss Equestria, at least not in a homesick way."

Luna took a seat on the ground beside of the teenager as she asked "then how do you miss it? Surely you must miss your parents and friends?" she prompted, watching as a sour look flashed across the girl's face.

"I miss being able to be independent. Pony's reach adulthood at fourteen or fifteen depending on who you ask. I was in my late teens by society's standards there. I could have worked a full-time job or gotten married or whatever." Sunset answered, "I haven't had to worry about getting my flank in trouble for years yet here I am, sixteen and grounded like a school filly!"

Luna chuckled a little as she listened to the girl. "just think of this as a reset. I doubt you got to do much the same stuff other children did once you went to that school. Think of this as a second childhood where you can just live a little."

Sunset looked up then, surprised by the usually intimidating woman's response. "Even if living a little lands ends up redecorating your office?" she quipped, earning a light glare from the woman "you were the one who stuck tacks into everything last year?"

Sunset managed a nod, but to her surprise, Luna laughed.

"that was you? That was a unique way to get revenge. Just no more stink bombs in the air vents, the whole school suffered with that." Sunset laughed a bit at that and nodded.

"I wouldn't do you or M...Miss Celestia like that, not again." The girl's face almost turned as red as her hair at her almost slip up but to her surprise, Luna just smirked.

"Sunset, I know what you've been calling Tia. Remember, I do monitor the cafeteria and you didn't exactly whisper." she stated before standing and adding: "speaking of Tia, she picked up some pizzas for dinner. I guess we better go eat."

"Wait."

Luna turned back toward Sunset then, not speaking as she waited for the teen to speak.

"You won't tell her, will you?"

"No. That's between you and Celestia. Though I can say she won't be angry about it."

* * *

A/N: sorry for lack of updates. This chapter is mostly filler though the next few will serve as some plot points for the story. Though I will say that the road to redemption won't be easy for Sunset.


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N: Jackster pearl gave me this idea a while ago so I had to figure out how to include it. Also, soccer/football is interchangeable in this. Plus more humanized characters from the main show will appear soon.**

"We will never be ready in time! I mean none of the junior players are ready and there is no one to fill in for Fleetfoot!" Rainbow was complaining when Sunset arrived at the lunch table that following Monday.

"What happened and who won't be ready?"

She asked, taking a seat between Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

"The soccer tournament! If we don't find a replacement for Fleetfoot before next week we're going to have to drop out of the tournament and this is the _only_ time in CHS history that we've made it to the final five!" The prism haired girl answered, earning a confused look from Sunset.

"Can't you play without her? One player won't make that much of a difference."

"It would mean others had to pick up the slack and since Fleet blew her knee out we're down one of our faster players." Spitfire stated from the table behind Rainbow where she and the rest of the senior soccer members sat.

"Too bad no one we know has a lot of speed and body strength." Pinkie commented around a mouth full of pudding.

Everyone was quiet for some time before Soarin spoke up "what about you Sunset? You're pretty fit."

"What?!"

The whole table erupted at the suggestion.

"No offense but this is the Nationals! This isn't some school from around here, hell it's not even from our country! We're talking Draca Academy! They won three years in a row!" Rainbow said, glancing over at Sunset who just held her hands up as if in surrender.

"No offense taken! I know next to nothing about soccer! Besides, no one on the team would actually want to play with me on the team!" Sunset stated, earning an eye roll from Spitfire.

"You're just too chicken to try. The team cares about one thing, winning. Sure they will give you hell in practice but for fuck's sake, you use to be a damn horse! Plus you're smart, you'll figure it out!"


	45. Chapter 45

"Remind me again why I have to meet _**your**_ friends?" Sunset complained the next morning as she was practically forced out of bed by Luna, who just rolled her eyes at the groggy and grumpy teen.

"Because I had plans for this weekend and Celestia had to do somethings this morning and I am not leaving you here by yourself." Luna retorted, opening the curtain to Sunset's room only to have to bite back a laugh as Sunset threw her blankets up over her face to block out the offending light.

"Why not? I'd just sleep!" Sunset grumbled, voice muffled by the covers.

Luna couldn't contain her amusement anymore and let out a small laugh "it's noon. You've got you're eight hours. I don't think you need any more sleep for today. Besides I am not about to cancel on them and if I leave you here my sister will kill me."

Sunset let out a groan as she slowly got out of bed, glaring at Luna all the while.  
"Great, I get to spend the entire day with old people." she commented under her breath as she headed toward the bathroom, only to feel something hit her square in the back of the head.

"I heard that brat. I am not that old!" Luna retorted as Sunset whirled around to figure out what she had been hit with, only to find one of the shirts that she had discarded onto the floor by the bed lying at her feet, where it had landed after hitting her.

"You're past twenty-six so yes you're old!" the teen said cheekily as she ducked into the bathroom just as Luna lobbed a pillow at her.

"you know I am going to get you for that!" she heard Luna call through a laugh before she heard the door to the bedroom click shut. _I can't believe that her bark is worse than her bite._ Sunset thought as she set about getting ready to face the day.

Luna, meanwhile went to the kitchen to make coffee when she noticed the box that they had forgotten about laying on the couch. _I really should let Celestia give it to her but it will be getting colder soon. Plus her jacket done for._ She thought as she grabbed a notepad from near the phone and wrote out a message:

 _ **Sunset,**_  
 _ **I forgot to give this to you last night with everything else going on.**_  
 _ **Anyway, I hope you like it.**_  
 _ **~celestia.**_

"Hey, Sunset! When you come down check the couch! Celestia left something for you this morning!"

Chrysalis arched a brow as she watched Discord set out lunch onto the table, humming all the while. "What the hell are you doing? Tired of getting turned down by one sister so you trying to impress the other?" she asked, earning a look as he retorted:

"I will have you know that _the very thought_ of that makes me want to gag. Luna and I are best friends or don't you remember like all of our time in high school?"

"You mean besides what the detention hall looked like?" Chrysalis remarked as she moved to pick up the frilly pink apron that he had discarded onto the floor "We were terrible"

"were? Chrissy, you can hack into any system you want and just because Luna and I have normal jobs don't mean either of us is any different than we were back then, something has to pay the bills."

"You make millions off that amusement park of yours. You don't have to do actual work. Though how the hell did you get through medical school is beyond me."

Neither of them noticed the door opening until a voice said: "he got his license out of a cracker jack box."

Sunset didn't know how to take the three adults in the room. Luna, she had always imagined as a stern, judgemental person though everything from that morning had shattered that image though as she stood behind Luna, watching as a tall, tan skinned man and a woman who had an incredible amount of body art bantered with each other. When Luna made the comment about the guy's license she couldn't help but chuckle.

"You wound me! Ooh...who is this behind you? Is this the girl you told Chrys about?"

Sunset shifted uncomfortably under his red and yellow gaze. _Jeez, what is up with this guy? It's like he can see inside my mind._ She thought as she shifted her gaze away from him.

"Discord, Chrysalis, this is Sunset Shimmer. Try not to make her too uncomfortable, she's not used to your level of crazy." Luna stated, chuckling as she glanced back at Sunset, making a mental note to try to figure out why she was acting so shy suddenly.

"Don't worry, I'll keep Discord on his leash. Though I do want to hear more about magic if you ever feel up to talking about it." Chrysalis retorted, taking hold of Discord's goatee as emphasis.

"Make sure that you do. Now what the world is that smell? I know Chrissy can't cook and the two that can isn't home this weekend." Luna commented, a hand gently forcing Sunset forward as she added: "relax Sunset, they don't bite."

Before Sunset could respond Discord closed the distance between them, summoning a single flower with a snap of his fingers. " Lulu is right. We're all friends here."

Luna resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her friend's antics. _What does he do? Charm his patients into admitting everything that bothers them?_ She thought, smirking at how confused that the teen looked.

"It's Discord, don't question anything he does or you will lose IQ points." she muttered to the fire-haired girl.


	46. Chapter 46

"Are you sure leaving those two alone is a good idea?" Chrysalis asked as she and Luna headed toward the parking lot, earning a shrug from the blue-haired woman.

"Sunset Shimmer is stubborn, pretty sure that if she so much as _thought_ I could hear whatever it is she will talk about she would clam up. For what reason? I don't know but I do know that something major is bothering her." Luna answered "besides, Discord could get _me_ to open up. Surely he can manage with Sunset."

"You do realize this is Discord we're talking about. He probably will cross a line and Celestia will kill him."

* * *

Discord smirked as he watched Sunset try to figure out the controls on the game system. _Well, she is basically another Luna, though she has a lot more spirit about her. This will be difficult._ He thought as he pressed a combo of buttons on his own controller, making the avatar on screen perform Some kind of fireball type move, which easily defeated her character.

"Wouldn't it be cool to have powers like this?" he prompted "did the beings of your world have abilities like that?" he asked, noticing how she suddenly looked horror-stricken.

"Some did but most just used practical magic." Sunset answered

Discord chuckled "fire would be practical." he argued, hoping to get a conversation started though Sunset seemed pretty locked in her thoughts. _I didn't want to result to this but Luna said she wanted answers since the kid seems to be having panic attacks._ He thought, sighing as he got up and went over to the coffee table.

"You wouldn't mind if I lit some incense, would you? I hate how these RVs always smell so musky." he knew that this went against every moral and law out there but since when did he follow either of those things outside of work?

"No, go ahead."

It didn't take long for the sweet scent of the blue petals to fill the air, though Discord noticed that the effects that it had on Sunset were a lot stronger than the ones it had on him. Her eyes began to droop as consciousness began to leave her. _Thank the gods I used so much of this stuff I'm almost immune to it_

"Tell me about your life before you came here. Tell me who Sunset Shimmer is." he said, clicking the record button on his phone. _I just hope this works without any adverse side effects. Zecora did suggest this for Luna back in high school though….and it somewhat worked._

He was brought from his thoughts by the teen's mumbling.

 _ **Sunset could hear the thunder as it rattled the windows of her room and felt her tail curl around her as if involuntarily. She knew that it was pegasi that controlled the weather but that didn't stop her from worrying about stray tornadoes or lightning striking buildings.**_

 _ **Slowly getting out of bed, the young unicorn made her way down the hall and to the stairs, however, she froze as she heard the hushed voices coming from below.**_

" _ **Sunburst, the truth is Sunset Shimmer isn't your sister. She is my sister's daughter. She and her husband left her here with us when they went to Las Pegasus." She could hear Stellar say, her voice lowering "then the news of the accident came. I was devastated and I couldn't just leave Sunset in an orphanage somewhere."**_

" _ **And that makes it okay to play favorites? You always compare her to me, how the hay is that fair?" This time it was Sunburst's voice**_

" _ **I do not play favorites! I just want her to have all the opportunities that you have had!"**_

 _ **Sunset could feel tears welling in her eyes as she listened to them.**_

" _ **The same opportunities? You barely recognize that she's in the room and it's starting to mess with her! She doesn't need a warden, she needs a mother!"**_

" _ **I'm her aunt, not her mother! If my sister didn't have to go searching for a fortune I wouldn't have to pretend that having her here hurts! Do you think it's easy for me when she is a spitting image of my sister, who was a complete abomination to this family!"**_

Discord's eyes grew wide as he listened to the girl recall her early years. One part of him wanted to snuff out the flowers and allow the girl's consciousness to return but she also knew that this may be the only time they could get direct answers.

"I'm sorry Sunset. But can you tell me a little more? About the princess, who was she and what happened there?" he pressed, knowing that he would have to do a hell of a lot of damage control later.

 _ **Suddenly the scene changed to the inside of the castle, the day she had taken her entrance exam. Sunset felt herself shaking as she stepped forward, glancing down at the seeds that she would have to grow, using nothing but magic.**_

 _ **You can do this. She thought, trying to pretend that the panel of judges and even the Princess herself wasn't there. Taking a deep breath she aimed her horn at the tray in front of her, feeling the mana rise through and out of her body in a short burst as she made the mental command for the plants to grow.**_

 _ **She didn't expect vines to lash out, entangling everything and everypony around her. She took an instinctive step back when she saw the golden glow surround Princess Celestia. Would she be banished? Thrown into a dungeon somewhere? She couldn't help but worry because surely The princess would be angry at the mess that she had caused.**_

 _ **However, suddenly a light chuckle caused her to look up.**_

" _ **I'm sorry p-princess. I didn't…" Sunset began, though the large white Alicorn cut her off.**_

" _ **There is no reason to apologize Little one. That is the most talent that I have seen in a very long time. As a matter of fact, I have a proposition for you...How would you like to become my personal student?"**_

 _ **The scene suddenly changed to the castle gardens, though Sunset stood off to the side, partially hidden by the shrubs as she watched Celestia and Cadence fly overhead. She knew she shouldn't be intruding on the Princess's personal time but she couldn't help but watch, the feeling of longing nearly choking her as she heard the laughter coming from the two.**_

 _ **Why can't I ever get her to smile like that?**_

Discord saw how Sunset's face contorted as she spoke, recalling the memories. He was glad that no one else was there, else they would think that the teen was in physical pain. Dumping a bottle of water over the smoking petals he quickly moved to toss the still smoldering petals out of the window, which he left open.

It didn't take long for the oxygen to replace the fumes the burning plants had produced, though as Sunset woke up she became aware of the pounding in her head.  
"What the hell did you do to me?"

Discord had enough common sense to stay well out of the girl's reach as he answered: "I just tried to get you to relax and open up a bit."

"By what? What was that you knocked me out with? Some kind of drug? Just what the hell were you planning to do?" she yelled, fists clenching at her sides as she stormed toward him.

"I would never do such a thing!" Discord insisted "I wanted to make it easier to get to know you is all!"

Realization washed over her as the words sank in. "Luna had you do this! You all fucking…"

However, before she could say or do anything farther a voice growled out from the doorway "why in the heck does this place smell like poison joke? Discord what the hell did you do?"


	47. Chapter 47

Sunset had to keep from crying as she whirled around to face the two women who had come in. "You knew this would happen! You planned all of this! What was it? Afraid the freak from another world would turn into a demon again?" She yelled as she turned all of her emotions on Luna.

"I planned for him to get you to relax and open up! Not overdose you on nitrous oxide!" Luna argued though Sunset just scoffed.

"Bullshit! I know what fear is, You're afraid of me! That is the only reason anyone wants me around! You could have been honest about it besides…" She froze as the familiarity of the words dawned on her then in one swift motion she pushed past Chrysalis and rushed out the door.

Luna glared over at Discord, her expression shifting from the shocked, almost hurt expression to livid a split second. "You were supposed to get her to relax and open up, not whatever the hell you call this!" she almost yelled, causing Discord to flinch back.

"It worked on you when we were in high school." he protested, earning a scoff

"Yeah, we were eighteen and I agreed to it! The only part about the hypnosis I didn't agree to was Celestia being in the other room! Do you have any idea what you probably just did to the girl! She was a mess for days after the fall formal and Celestia and I just now got her to open up just a tiny bit." Luna said through clenched teeth as she pulled out her cellphone.

"Who are you calling?" Discord asked, earning a sigh

"Celestia. If there is anyone who can calm that kid down it's her."

Chrysalis rolled her eyes at the two and made her own phone call.

"You two idiots can rely on miss Sunshine and Daisies if you want but my son's friends can find her faster….and they won't screw up."

* * *

Sunset couldn't believe any of this. Why had she let herself open up to Celestia and Luna so much? She knew it would only get her hurt in the long run, but even now as she walked through the forest she couldn't keep the tears at bay.

 _How could I be so stupid? I let myself start hoping that someone might give a damn but look where that got me!_ She thought as she walked alongside the road leading back into Canterlot. She was angry, not to mention hurt but she couldn't get the look that Luna had sent her when she had blown up on the three.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the motorcycle pull up beside of her "Hey kid, are you lost?"

Even with the voice being muffled under the helmet she could tell the owner was female. "No, I just…" Sunset stopped herself from saying anything else though the bike slowed to a stop.

"You don't seem to be the kind of girl who would hang around this part of town. So what brings you out here Red?"

Sunset debated rather or not to tell the truth but decided against it.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

The motorcycle driver just nodded before dismounting, removing her helmet to reveal dark raspberry colored skin and magenta hair that was shorn into a mohawk. "Huh, yeah been there. Anyway, it's getting late kid, let me drive you home. This sort of town is dangerous for a little thing such as yourself once night comes."

Sunset hoped that it wasn't obvious that the tall, young woman in front of her intimidated her now that she could see her face, which had a long scar running down the right side, covering one eye. The woman, however, seemed to see through the hesitance and let out a chuckle.

" Suit yourself but here's my number. Hang on the bad part of town enough and you'll appreciate having the connections." She stated, handing her a piece of paper from her pocket, just as Sunset's phone began to ring.

"And a word to the wise: if they're willing to try even after you fuck up multiple times, it usually means they generally care about you in one way or another."


	48. Chapter 48

p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"Celestia was beyond irritated, although she did her best not to show it around Sunset, who had not really spoken more than three words since she had practically blown up on Luna, who had come by to try to explain. Currently, the teen was playing rift after rift in her guitar upstairs./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"Celestia knew that Luna had good intentions with all of this and the younger woman insisted on not knowing about the poison joke, however, one part of her couldn't helpembut/embe irritated with her for this whole mess./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"Why would she have left Sunset alone with someone like Discord in the first place?/p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"Celestia tried to focus on the novel she was reading, although that proved impossible due to the noise that was coming from upstairs. "emWell, I suppose I can't complain," there are more destructive ways to deal with her anger./emShe reminded herself./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"Even though after an hour the loud noise was beginning to grate onto her last nerve./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"Sighing she got up and walked outside, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, figuring that if she tried to talk with Sunset it would go rather badly with her current mood./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"Sunset sighed as she put the guitar away, her fingers and wrists cramping from playing continuously for hours. She didn't know what to feel or think. She wouldn't be quick to place the blame on Celestia, who seemed to be just as pissed about this whole thing as she was./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"But was Luna as innocent as she claimed to be? She wasn't sure what to think anymore./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"em"I feel terrible about what I said but how am I supposed to feel? I have been lied to my whole life, why would this time be any different?/emShe wondered as she sat there for some time, " Sunset was lost in thought./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"Unknown to her there was a knock at the door "Sunset? Can I come in?"/p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"The sudden voice caused her to jolt from her thoughts though she managed to respond with "yeah, it's unlocked."emI am lucky she respects my privacy like this./emShe thought as Celestia came in, carrying a mug of hot chocolate./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;""Since you told me you weren't hungry I figured that at least this would help keep your blood sugar up." Celestia spoke calmly, earning a hint of a smile as Sunset accepted it./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;""Thanks, Ma'am." Sunset replied quietly as the woman set down beside of her./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;""You must think I'm awful, talking to Luna like I did." she was afraid to know the response she would get, but she knew she had to talk about this with someone, even if it was Celestia./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;""You're angry, I think what you said was natural for the circumstances although your language wasn't ideal." Celestia answered honestly, a hand carefully rubbing Sunset's shoulders as she added "How are you doing? Honestly? You seemed pretty upset earlier."/p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"Sunset sighed as she mulled over if she should try to change the subject or just refuse to respond to the topic, however she couldn't remember the last time someone had cared enough to ask about how she felt./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;""I don't even know how I feel right now. I want to believe Luna but I can't. I have been betrayed and let down so much I just don't know if I should, you know?" Sunset answered after a few minutes./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;""Yes, I understand. It must have hurt knowing people you thought you could trust had pulled a stunt like that. Discord did probably have good intentions but he can be quite the idiot on the spectrum of common sense."/p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"Sunset smirked a bit as she put her drink on the bedside table before she added "more like a complete jackass."/p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"She was surprised by the soft laugh that came from her teacher, which prompted her to look up, eyes slightly wide in surprise at the smile on Celestia's princess would have…No...This Celestia is nothing like the one I grew up with, their only similarities are their generosity and kindness, though the Princess had a limit on that when it came to me./em/p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"She felt a familiar bubble of curiosity come over her, though she tried to fight caused enough trouble Sunset Shimmer, stop being a dumbass./emShe scolded herself mentally though after a few minutes of silence she couldn't fight it anymore and leaned against Celestia's side./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"She expected the woman to pull away or at least stiffen up but she didn't expect an arm to wrap around her. "You don't mind this do you?" Sunset couldn't help but ask, only to feel the grip around her tighten./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;""Of course not. Why do you ask that?" Celestia asked, taking note of the half-hidden sadness in the girl's tone. She could feel Sunset go rigid at the question although Sunset answered:/p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;""Most people wouldn't want someone like me so close to them." Sunset admitted./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;""Sunset Shimmer, I don't know what you mean about someone like you but do you know what I see in you? A stubborn and very intelligent young lady who works hard to get what she wants. You may have made some mistakes before but that doesn't make you a bad person."br /Celestia began, pausing a moment as she added./p  
p style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;""And you are a very talented girl, not only academically but I've listened to you play that guitar and sing and I've seen a glimpse of a very sweet person under all of those layers." Celestia smiled./p 


	49. Chapter 49

Sunset sighed as she sent her fist into the pillow again as she tried to figure out how she was going to handle this whole mess. She knew that she wouldn't be forced to speak to Luna if she didn't want to but she also knew that would just make living with Celestia even more awkward than it already was.

 _Why is it that I feel like I_ _ **should**_ _forgive her when I am still so friggin' angry!_ She wondered bitterly as she slumped down onto the bed, closing her eyes while trying to hold in the emotions that she had building up inside her. _What the hell should I do? I mean she had to know about Discord's plain right?_

Sighing she buried her face into her hands, wishing that everything was as simple as it had been when she kept everyone at arm's length. But was simplicity worth the loneliness? She couldn't help but wonder as she fell back against the mattress with a groan.

Sighing she debated her options. She only had two choices: Go downstairs and Talk to Celestia which would run a risk of her coming face to face with Luna or stay in her room and possibly breaking something.

 _Either way is more trouble than it is worth but I can't bother the girls with something as stupid as this! I mean they will probably just see it as a sign that I'm not serious about changing and then I would be stuck being alone yet_ _ **again**_ _and I don't think I could take that._

Sighing she mulled it over for a few minutes before getting to her feet and heading downstairs, pausing when she heard a strange male voice coming from inside the room. _I certainly don't want to meet anyone else's friends today._ Sunset thought as she tried to make herself unnoticeable in the shadows.

The boy who stood inside Celestia's living room had green skin and orange hair which made Sunset wonder just what bad luck he had that his skin and hair clashed painfully. _If everyone has a copy of themselves in my world I wonder who or rather_ _ **what**_ _he is._ She couldn't help but wonder as she found herself staring into his violet eyes.

"Hello. Sorry I didn't see you there. You must be the girl that Celestia adopted. I'm Thorax."

He said, taking a step toward Sunset, who couldn't help but stiffen at the sudden introduction.

"I'm Sunset Shimmer. What exactly are you doing here?"

She wanted to wince at the tone of her own voice though she wouldn't let her guard down this time. Crossing her arms over her chest she tried to look intimidating, however, she didn't notice Celestia coming down the hall behind her until she felt something hit her in back of the head.

"Stop interrogating him. He only came by because I agreed to let his older brother have some college textbooks that I didn't need anymore." Celestia chided, causing the redhead to blush.

Thorax only chuckled at the pair before saying "Hey, Pharynx is worse than she is on an _normal_ day. I'm used to it."

"That I believe…remember I used to babysit you two when you were small." Celestia chuckled before nudging the still embarrassed teenager before adding "why don't you have Thorax show you some of the places he and his friends hang out at? I doubt you want to see Luna right now."

Sunset was almost taken aback by the suggestion, which surprised her since she remembered all too well how many times that the Princess had forced her into situations that had made her both nervous and uncomfortable.

"Um…are you sure?" Sunset questioned, turning toward the aurora-haired woman who just sent her a look that the teen could have sworn that concealed a hint of a smirk.

"Sunset, trust me. If I wasn't sure I wouldn't have suggested it." The principal answered before adding in a teasing whisper "at least he's your age."

Sunset sighed as she followed Thorax out of the house, not exactly sure what to say.

"Sorry I was such a bitch back there. You would not believe the day that I have been having." She said, earning a shrug.

"Don't worry about it. Try living with two brothers and dealing with Tempest Shadow and her band of bat-brains."


	50. Chapter 50

Something was up and Sunset knew it, though exactly what it was that Thorax wasn't telling her, she didn't know. "Okay, what on earth is going on? People just don't show up over nearly nothing." Sunset stated, earning a sigh from the boy.

"My Mom wanted to talk to you. She may or may not have blackmailed me into getting you to come out." Thorax answered, earning a glare.

"Figures, what does she want?"

Thorax didn't have time to reply before chrysalis approached them, holding out what looked to be a cell phone. "I figured you would want to hear this. No one heard but Discord recorded everything that you said during Discord's idiotic idea of hypnosis."

Sunset was surprised by this, though she slowly accepted the silver device "Feel free to break that thing into a million pieces if you want. He makes enough money to get a new phone."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Thorax questioned, earning a chuckle from the dark skinned woman

"Thorax, you're too sensitive. Seriously, after what that idiot did, he deserves it."

Luna sighed as she leaned back onto the couch, pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to ward off the headache that she felt coming on. "Sis, I know. I screwed up okay? But I swear to you and to whatever god or goddess is out there that I didn't know he would pull something like this! I mean he is a dumb ass but he usually isn't _this_ much of one."

She complained, earning a sigh from Celestia who looked just as equally stressed out as Luna did. "I know but seriously, you should have seen her. I don't know what was going on but Sunset just seemed so hurt by this whole thing, like she didn't know what to think."

"Thanks for the guilt trip Celestia, I totally needed that." Luna grumbled before adding "I swear next time I see that slick bastard I am going to knee him right in the…"

Luna was cut off by the sound of the front door slamming shut, followed by a string of muttered curses.

"Sunset? What happened?" Celestia asked as the teen stormed through the living room, ignoring both women as she threw a phone down onto the couch before dashing upstairs.

"Oh geez…Isn't that Discord's phone?"

"Whatever that jerk did…I am going to kill him."

Luna sighed as she turned the object on, only to find a sound file pulled up and played out.

"You might not have to kill him Celestia, it depends on if Sunset or I get to him first." Luna commented

Celestia glanced down at the phone, taking note that the file had been listened to, at least to a half way mark. "I better go see if she is okay." She said softly, earning a nod from Luna.

 _How dumb could Discord be? Not only broke her trust but he did something like this to get the answers? Sure I wanted to know why she was so fucking jumpy but I didn't want this._ Luna thought bitterly, thinking of the redhead and how distraught she had been the night after the fall formal. _What if whatever it was that night that hit her, made her remember everything?_

"Damn it Discord. I hope you didn't just fuck her up worse than she was already." Luna muttered to no one.


	51. Chapter 51

"I guess you listened to the audio file." Celestia heard Sunset say as soon as she opened the door after not getting a response from the teen. However, Celestia only sighed and shook her head.

"No, whatever Discord recorded is for _you_ to decide who and when to tell. I am not about to go snooping through your business just because I am curious about who Sunset Shimmer really is." Celestia answered honestly as she moved to sit down beside her on the bed.

Even in the dim light of the room, Celestia could tell Sunset was crying. "Now you want to tell me what happened? Because I have a feeling Chrysalis is behind most of this and I already want to punch Discord for what he did."

Sunset couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of the benevolent principal hitting anyone, though she had seen how the Princess could react at times. But Principal Celestia was so different than the Princess, that it was hard to see them as the same person anymore.

"Chrysalis just gave me his phone and showed me the recording." Sunset sniffled, trying to get control over her emotions although the memories that she had tried to suppress for years seemed to be repeated in a loop in her mind.

"It just…I wish I could just forget everything! When I came through the portal I wanted to start over, or at least a part of me did!"

Sunset exclaimed suddenly, fists turning pale as she gripped the pillow that she had been holding even tighter. _Why did I have to be stupid as a kid? Why did I have to want all those impossible things? I knew that my parents were dead and that my aunt and uncle didn't really want me so why did I dare think that_ anyone _else would see_ something _special in me? Something that they could be proud of me for besides all the constant disappointment that I seemed to always felt!_ She thought bitterly, not even noticing the arms wrapping around her until Celestia finally spoke.

"I wish I could take this pain from you because I would much rather feel all the pain that you are feeling now than to see you be so upset."

Sunset couldn't help it, with the combo of the emotions that were running rampant inside her heart combined with the soothing tone of her teacher something compelled her to turn and hug the woman tightly. Closing her eyes tightly she tried to ignore the painful feeling in her heart as Celestia's arms tightened around her.

 _Why does she care so much? She doesn't have to. I'm just an alien who literally came into this world by chance._ The unicorn turned teenager thought bitterly, though she was afraid to know the answer.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She managed to sob, her voice sounding distant to her own ears as she buried her face into the woman's shoulder.

Celestia could feel the girl trembling with every breath, though her words confused her though she just shushed the girl as she tried to help her calm down.

"Sorry for what Sunset? You haven't done anything wrong."She asked once the teen's sobs had lessened somewhat.

"Yes, I have! I keep making everyone's lives miserable! I did it in Equestria and I am doing it again here! Sometimes I wish that the blast the night of the fall formal had killed me! At least then I would have been out of everyone's way!" Sunset said, her voice breaking several times as she pulled away and put some distance between them suddenly. _You're starting to do it again. Wanting to get too close, it always starts with just wanting to talk then it turns into more hope and longing and you end up landing on your face completely alone again!_ Sunset mentally scolded herself, not even noticing that Celestia had gotten up from the bed until the aurora-haired woman had knelt down in front of her.

"Sunset," Celestia's sharper tone broke Sunset from her thoughts and caused her to jolt slightly "You are not making anyone miserable and I don't want you to ever think about yourself that lowly." Celestia continued, maintaining eye contact with the teen who quickly glanced away, tears beginning to well up again.

"Maybe not now but I will…I always do! Aunt Stellar and the Princess both eventually said they wished they never agreed to take me in!"

Celestia had thought that she had been angry with Discord, but upon hearing those words out of Sunset's mouth the Principal felt her blood begin to boil.

"Then they are idiots."

Sunset looked back at her then, eyes growing wide in surprise "what?" she asked softly, having never heard the princess of the sun spoken about in such a way.

"They're idiots. I very much doubt that you were any more mischievous or ill-mannered than any other child your age."

One part of Sunset wanted to argue, to defend the princess by mentioning everything that she had done from sneaking into the forbidden section to the lesser offenses that she had committed however Celestia suddenly spoke again, her voice still holding the firm but friendly tone.

"Sunset, tell me why they told you that."

Swallowing hard the teen glanced down, the memories resurfacing along with the emotions that she had felt during those days.

"I accidentally caught a skillet on fire while trying to fix Stellar breakfast for mother's day. I think that was the last time I went home for anything." Sunset whispered, hoping that her new guardian wouldn't press her into talking about what had happened between her and Princess Celestia.

 _What the hell is wrong with those people….Ponies…Whatever you want to call them? No child deserves to be treated like that, even if Sunset could have been a handful which I don't doubt given that attitude of hers._ Celestia thought as she reached out to brush some hair away from Sunset's face.

"Sunset Shimmer, I can promise you that no one will speak to you in such a way here. I don't know what on earth was going on in those people…Err…Ponies minds but I can promise you this: You will always have a home here and nothing will change that. I care about you too much."

Sunset couldn't help but hug the woman yet again, though this time the tears weren't from the betrayal and sadness that she felt.

"Thank you." She managed to mutter, though the only response she got was a kiss pressed to her temple.

 _I don't know what is going on in that head of hers but I do know that if I ever get to send a letter to that so-called princess I will give her a piece of my mind! No one should be spoken to in such a way, let alone a young child! Who knows what else happened to Sunset that she isn't telling me. She is afraid to even touch me like I'll just push her away or even hit her if she was to come too close. Not to mention the fact that she rarely could make eye contact with me for those first few weeks. Princess or not, whatever happened was inexcusable._


	52. Chapter 52

Sunset wondered if she was making a mistake as she followed Celestia downstairs. She wasn't sure if Luna was telling the truth or not about not having any involvement with Discord's plan, however, she also felt like total shit for how she had spoken to her the day before. _What if she doesn't forgive me? What if I messed up too badly?_ The questions started to fill her mind again. However, before she could chicken out she found that she was being pushed slightly toward the living room.

"Miss Luna? May I talk to you?" She winced at how pitiful her own voice sounded, though even she couldn't hide the nervousness that she felt as she gripped at the sleeves of her pajama top, trying to regain some form of composure before she completely gave into her nerves.

 _What if she is mad after what I said to her? What if what I said was unforgivable?_ She worried, watching as the woman turned her attention toward her. _I wish I could tell what she is thinking; I wish she would say something even if it isn't what I want to hear._

"I thought we agreed to drop the formalities?" Luna said nonchalantly but Sunset couldn't help but smile as she heard the familiar words.

"Sorry," Sunset began, glancing away as she added "actually I came down here to apologize for how I acted the other day. I should have let you explain besides flying off the handle like I did."

Sunset didn't dare to make eye contact as she waited for a response, though to her surprise Luna chuckled slightly, causing her to look up.

"Kid, if you _**didn't**_ get angry is when I would have worried. Yes, I will admit that some of the words hurt however I can only imagine how hurt and angry that it made you to be forced to go through all of that left you."

Sunset wasn't sure what she should do now, having had little social interaction like this as a filly had left its mark. Sure she had learned how to read people's body language and behavior but Luna had _always_ been hard to read and now it seemed like it was even harder.

"I still shouldn't have said half of that though." She muttered, praying to whatever higher power out there that she didn't sound disrespectful in any way.

"And how many of us have said things that we did not mean? Sunset, what you did isn't unforgivable. If anything I should be apologizing for letting you stay in a room alone with that idiot. I know he would never hurt you but what he did was just as bad."

Luna saw Sunset shift uncomfortably at that, though what concerned her was the tearstains on her face. _Hopefully Celestia got you to talk about whatever it was that made you so upset._ She thought as she stood, closing the distance between the two of them in just a few strides.

Sunset felt herself shrink back as the woman came to a stop in front of her however despite the fact that everything inside of her warning her not to do anything stupid that could offend the woman however as soon as she a hand rest on her shoulder she found herself timidly stepping forward, hugging the woman.

 _She won't push you away._ Sunset reminded herself as she felt Luna shift any fears she had vanished as she felt arms carefully wrap around her.

"I'm so sorry." She choked out for what felt like the millionth time since the dance.

"Shh Sunset. it's okay. No one is angry with you."

As Celestia watched her sister try to comfort the teen she couldn't help but think about what she had been told. _The poor girl was basically told that she wasn't wanted and I don't even want to know the real reason why she is so hesitant just to touch someone._

"Miss. Celestia?" the sudden voice snapped out of her thoughts.

"Huh? What is it Sunset?"

Sunset bit her lip as she made a snap decision on what to do. _She said if I needed to talk to her that I could…about anything. Maybe I should talk to her…Maybe Luna is right that I need to open up with someone. But what if it's like when I tried to talk to the princess? What if she thinks it's inappropriate for a student to talk with their teacher about these sorts of things?_

"I want to talk to you about what Discord recorded…You and Luna." She forced herself to say, her heart once again hammering in her ears "if that's okay with you that is."


	53. Chapter 53

Sunset wasn't sure that she wanted to do this because it meant not only laying bare everything that she had kept bottled up inside her for years, having never really spoken about the memories to anyone but Sunburst on rare occasions when they were both still very young.

"You know that you don't have to tell us anything that you don't want to." Celestia said softly, earning a nod.

"I know but it'll probably come up eventually so I might as wells tell you now and get it over with." Sunset's response didn't make the older woman feel any better about having this conversation.

"First off," Sunset began as she began to fiddle with one of the buttons on the front of her pajama top "My parents were Solar wind and Sunspot. However, I never got to know them. They died in a train crash on the way to Las Pegasus when I was just a baby."

Sunset paused before closing her eyes, trying to give herself the courage to tell them what she felt she needed to.

"I grew up in a place called Sires Hallow with my aunt and uncle and cousin but I didn't know that they weren't my parents until I was five years old." Sunset began, sighing as she glanced toward the large picture window that looked out toward the road. "They never told me not to call them Mom and Dad so I grew up calling them that. Imagine how it felt when I not only learned they weren't my parents but was told I suddenly had to start calling them by the _proper_ terms."

Sunset couldn't help but tear up as she remembered that particular conversation, which had ended in an argument with her aunt. "She didn't even seem happy about me becoming the Princess's student. She just started stressing me out about not screwing up. I mean, if she had even tried to support me besides always criticizing I wouldn't have minded so much but I could never just _talk_ with her."

Celestia moved to wrap an arm around the teen's shoulders while Luna sat across the room, clenching her fists so hard that her knuckles were turning pale. _What the hell? This is fucked up_. Luna thought as she listened to Sunset who continued to talk.

"I had already felt like I was just some kind of bother to her and my Uncle. I mean, it was obvious that they cared more about Sunburst than me and it got worse after he made friends with this filly that lived in town. I spent most of my time back then alone, reading or drawing. I tried to make friends but it was difficult with living in my cousin's shadow and well…My magical outbursts didn't help."

"Magical outbursts?" Celestia repeated quizzically, earning a chuckle.

"Right, you have no idea what I'm talking about. Unicorns born with a lot of magical talent can't control it when they are young, which results in some quite embarrassing things like shooting a fireball on accident while sneezing."

Sunset chuckled a bit at that particular memory before sighing "Anyway, after I got accepted into the School for gifted unicorns I thought it would get better but most students were intimidated by me because I was the Princess's private student. As if that really mattered to a seven-year-old who wanted to spend the weekend goofing off besides reading."

"What about this _Princess_ of yours? What was she like?" Luna prompted, taking notice of how the girl stiffened at the question.

"She was great…really. I mean, she was kind and put her people first." Sunset answered though something about her tone made Luna skeptical if that was the whole truth.

"Perhaps she was a good ruler, however, I fail to see how she was a good teacher. " Celestia said, remembering how the girl had said she had been spoken to.

"She was…really. It's not her fault that I kept screwing up."


	54. Chapter 54

_She was a good teacher; I mean…She was the princess. She didn't have time for me to bother her with all the childish tomfoolery that I was constantly trying to engage her in. I mean, I should have known better. I mean, Cadence was a princess…That's the only reason that she got to be so close with Princess Celestia._

 _"_ Sunset, from what little you've told me that…Whatever…Didn't know how to deal with a child let alone teach one." Celestia's voice snapped her from her thoughts, causing her to want to argue with the woman however one look into the sympathetic eyes caused the words to die in her throat.

 _But I was the one with stupid thoughts; she would have never gotten angry with me if I hadn't wanted the impossible._ Sunset thought, though she didn't dare argue with the woman.

"Sunset, tell me the best memory that you have of the Princess." Luna said, earning a dirty look from Celestia who obviously didn't want to force the teen into telling them anything.

Sunset thought about it, shuffling through the memories that she had of the mare that had practically raised her. "Well there was this one time; it was during my first few months as her student.I was a bit homesick and couldn't sleep. She actually set up with me that night until I finally passed out."

 _She sounds like she still can't believe that happened._ Luna noted as she shared a look with Celestia before saying: "thank you for telling us all of this Sunset. It couldn't be easy."

Celestia couldn't sleep, her mind lingering on the teenager that was currently sleeping down the hall. _I am going to kill Discord for bringing all of this back up for her. I just hope that we didn't make her feel like she had to tell us anything._ She thought as she turned her attention back toward the TV.

"Miss. Celestia?"

Turning her attention toward the stairway, Celestia was surprised to see the usually confident teenager standing by the stairway, trembling slightly.

"What's wrong?" Celestia responded, turning her complete attention to Sunset, who glanced away with a blush.

"I was wondering… Can I stay up with you for a little while? I mean…I understand if you would rather spend this time alone but I thought….It wouldn't hurt to ask." Sunset replied, biting her lip as she glanced up at her makeshift guardian.

Celestia hated the pleading look in those teal eyes.

"How about you go into my room and find a movie on the TV in there? I'll be up in a minute." Celestia suggested, earning a surprised look though the teen just gave a shy smile at that.

"Thanks." Was the only thing that the red-head had managed to say before heading back up the stairs. _I hope that I'm not overstepping some unspoken boundaries here…I just don't want to be alone tonight._ The unicorn turned human thought worriedly as she entered the master bedroom.

 _But if I did, she wouldn't invite me into her room. Would she? I mean, she and Luna were so caring earlier today, even after how I've been acting._ She thought as she glanced around the room before taking a seat on the bed.

 _For a house this big and fancy on the outside, her room is rather simple._ Sunset thought, remembering the elegance of the Princess's chambers back in Equestria.

"You know, you're different than I imagined." Sunset couldn't help but say when the woman entered the room, earning a slightly bemused look as the woman took a seat beside her.

"And what did you think I would be like?"

 _And how do you tell someone that the person they have been getting so ticked off at is an alternative version of them?_ "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Sunset responded, earning a sigh from the aurora-haired woman.

"Let me guess, the _other_ me acts differently?"

Sunset winced at that and nodded "Yeah, she does."

Celestia could tell that this wasn't exactly something that Sunset was comfortable talking about so she let it drop and instead motioned for Sunset to sit farther up on the bed, chuckling at her confused look.

"Well I don't care how the other me acts, I'm not her." Celestia stated before adding "Now make yourself comfortable. I didn't invite you in here just for you to act like you were on trial."

A comfortable silence passed over them as they sat there, the only sound in the room is the TV, although Sunset's attention wasn't on the screen, but on her own thoughts. _Is this what it's like having a family? I mean, I know I technically have family that is still alive but the last time I remember my aunt and uncle doing anything like this with me was when I was barely more than a foal._

Closing her eyes for a second she let her mind wonder, not even noticing that she had subconsciously leaned against her guardian until she felt fingers begin to rake gently through her hair.

"If you keep that up I might fall asleep." She warned, hearing the chuckle from the Principal

"It's okay if you do. I'm sure this bed is big enough for both of us."


	55. Chapter 55

_Did I fall asleep in here? When in Tartarus did I become this needy? I wasn't even this clingy as a foal!_ Sunset thought as soon as she had woke up the next morning, finding herself tangled in pastel-colored blankets.

 _I hope she really doesn't mind…I mean…I've only been living here for what? Three weeks? Maybe? I probably crossed some boundary last night but….I can't say it wasn't worth it. The nightmares didn't keep me up all night like they normally do._

She thought as she climbed out of bed, mentally trying to prepare herself for whatever awaited her downstairs. _Maybe if I'm lucky she'll just remind me that nothing between us can change and that this was a onetime thing. Maybe she won't be too angry?_

Sunset knew deep down that she was over-thinking things a bit, that perhaps Principal Celestia wouldn't mind the intrusion of privacy that much, after all, she had said that the bed was big enough for them both. But even with that in mind, what-if scenarios still began to play through her thoughts.

 _Maybe I can get by with just grabbing something from the café and meeting up with one of the other girls? I mean, Rainbow Dash did say something yesterday morning about wanting to do something for the showcase that is supposed to happen after the holidays._

However, that hope died as soon as she walked into the kitchen, finding a tired looking Celestia sitting at the table nursing a cup of coffee.

"I…I didn't keep you up all night did I?" Sunset managed to stammer out as she took notice of the rings under her mentor's eyes.

"No Sunset, you didn't. But we need to talk."

 _Here it comes._

"Did I do something wrong? I-I'm sorry! Please don't…"

Celestia didn't give her time to finish that sentence, moving to put her arms around the trembling teen.

"No Sunset, you've done nothing wrong." The older woman tried to assure, though she wasn't sure how to explain exactly what it was about, especially since it was something that Sunset had tried to keep hidden from her.

"T-Then what is it?"

Celestia hated how frightened the teen sounded.

"Sunset, why didn't you tell me who the princess was?" Celestia asked calmly, earning a wide-eyed look from the redhead.

"What do you mean?"

The principal could hear the panic in the former unicorn's tone.

"Sunset, you talk in your sleep. I don't even want to know what you were dreaming about, because you kept calling out to the princess."

Sunset glanced down as she heard this "So you know that she is….Your alternative self?" She asked her in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Sunset, is that why you were so afraid to get into trouble with me? Because the Princess could be harsh? I know you don't want to talk about it and I won't force you but I think it would help both of us."

Sunset sighed then, closing her eyes and pulling away though she wrapped her arms around herself as she began to speak, her voice quivering slightly as she forced out the words "I was afraid you would kick me out. I know I'm expendable, just like I was with the Princess."

Celestia was at a loss for words; however, before she could manage to say or do anything Sunset spoke again.

"At first the princess made me feel special. like I really had found my place and for once I was happy. I wasn't only _the best_ at magic but I finally had someone who cared about me. But then I saw how she acted around Cadence."

Sunset closed her eyes as she continued softly

"With me, the princess didn't tolerate much. I tried to pull a Nightmare Night prank once when I was ten. I got in trouble for a simple confetti bomb but Cadence could get by with the same thing. I mean I get that I was _just_ a normal unicorn but I mean, doesn't she realize how unfair she was being? It's not like I did it in front of a group of delegates or something."

 _Note to self, When Cadence comes over to make sure that Sunset is included in the conversation as much as possible. Just what the heck was the other me thinking?_

"But what was worse was that Cadence was exactly like me, a Pegasus with no one but an adopted family. I didn't even have visitors but yet Princess Celestia wouldn't let me within a wingspan. If it wasn't school work related she wanted nothing to do with and onceI grew bored with basic magic she wouldn't let me go on to the more advanced, saying I wasn't ready."

Celestia heard how the teen's voice wavered from time to time, though Sunset's expression remained stoic.

"Besides explaining it to me, she just started pushing me to stop my studies and make more friends. However when I tried to tell her how hard it was for me to just talk to other ponies my age…She just said for me to try harder. I did try…But I failed. Just like I failed at everything and why she replaced me!"

"Sunset Shimmer."

The soft voice called Sunset out of her thoughts, causing her to look up at this world's Celestia, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"You are not a failure. Sure, you made mistakes but I think the real failure was the princess for trying to treat a child as an adult."

"But I betrayed her trust...I broke into the room the mirror was stored in...I..." Sunset began to argue, only to feel a hand gently lift her chin to make her make eye contact.

"Sunset, of course, you lashed out. Anyone would if they felt like they were basically pushing a brick wall. I dare say that everything that has happened was just as much that princess's fault as it was yours if not more so."


	56. Chapter 56

Sunset sighed as she sat in one of the band rooms, watching Rainbow Dash discussed what they would be doing for the Musical Showcase in the upcoming months. The group of girls was discussing plans while Sunset sat off to the side of the room, sketchbook in her lap while she tried to ignore the fact that her so-called, new found friends were practically ignoring her.

"What in the heck? I swear people are losing their fucking minds." Rainbow Dash suddenly exclaimed, causing Sunset to look up.

"Rainbow Dash! Must you talk like such a vagrant?" Rarity said, earning an eye roll from the athlete.

"sorry but it's true! Look at this post on the Jabberverse forums!" she argued

"What is it?" Sunset asked, watching as Rarity looked disgusted at what was written on the screen.

"Oh darling, you don't want to see this." Rarity said, earning a sigh from the flame-haired girl.

"Guys, I know that everyone is talking about me in one way or another. It can't get any worse than what they have been putting inside my locker!" Sunset said, though as soon as she saw the words she instantly regretted it.

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked, watching as the usually strong girl's eyes filled with tears.

"No, I'm not." Came the answer, before Sunset managed to choke out "I have to go."

Once she was out of the room Rainbow Dash glanced over at the others

"That girl is hiding something! She has been disappearing at the weirdest times!"

* * *

Luna knew something was wrong as soon as she walked into Celestia's office only to find her sitting in total darkness with only the dim light from her laptop illuminating the room. "Uh-Oh, what happened now? First, you agreed to help me finish the rest of this paperwork on a Saturday besides asking Raven to do it and now this."

The younger woman asked, wincing as she heard the sound of what she hoped was a door slamming down the hall.

"Anyway, while no one needs us to supervise one of the after-school clubs or Saturday detention tell me what's up. I know this probably has something to do with a certain flame-haired girl."

Celestia glanced up, knowing that her sister wouldn't stop bugging her until she actually told her what had happened that morning.

"Sunset and I had a talk this morning about the princess. How Sunset was treated under her was inexcusable! I don't think I've ever been so angry at someone I had never met." Celestia confessed, earning a questioning look from Luna who turned a nearby chair around and took a seat on it backward.

"Do you think I need to see if Doctor Hooves has an opening? I know she isn't going to trust Discord after that shit he pulled….a matter a fact I don't even trust Discord after that." Luna asked, earning a sighed from Celestia.

"I want to talk it over with Sunset first. I don't want her thinking that we're pressuring her into anything. She already feels like she failed at everything, I don't want to add to that."

Luna nodded just as Sunset came into the room, slamming the door behind her.

"You know if you keep taking spite out on that thing we're going to end up having to replace the glass." Luna quipped, watching as the teen slid down into the chair beside the door.

"I'm not in the mood Luna."

Both women shared a look at that before Celestia spoke.

"Want to talk about it?" she questioned, earning a surprised look before Sunset let out a soft

"No."

They allowed Sunset to sit in silence for some time, carrying on a conversation about the various paperwork that still had to be done until the redhead finally decided to speak, her voice coming out as barely a whisper

"Get on Jabberverse. Rainbow Dash showed me the topic they posted about me on there."

The two sisters shared a look at that before Luna stood.

"I think I need to go call a certain hacker to see if a certain website can't be shut down prematurely….Or at least a post deleted." She stated before leaving the room.

Celestia sighed as she was left alone with the girl, who had been acting strange ever since their talk that morning. Sighing she stood and walked over to the girl, who seemed too lost in thought to notice her.

"Sunset? Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? It might help."

She prompted gently, only for Sunset to shake her head.

"What's there to talk about? Every bit of it is true."

Sunset instantly regretted those words when she saw the look on the principal's face.

"Now that's enough of that. You have made a fair share of mistakes but I am sure that not all of what they are saying is true."

Sunset didn't respond, though she couldn't help but to think how wrong Celestia was. However, it was hard to argue with someone who had been patient and overall just caring about her beyond that that was expected of a teacher to a student, let alone a troublemaker like she had been.

"Sunset…Please look at me." Celestia began after a while, prompting the teenager to look at her"I may not know what was said however I know what I see when I look at you and I _know_ that you aren't that demon or whatever else they have said. Please don't let them get to you, Luna and I will do our best to figure out who is behind these forum posts but I need you to start trying to open up with us okay?"

Sunset didn't want to lie nor did she want to disappoint her mentor so she managed to force out a meek

"Okay."

Celestia debated with herself for a brief moment before she leaned forward, pressing her lips against the redhead's forehead.


	57. Chapter 57

Sunset winced as Pinkie Pie exclaimed something, though all the former unicorn could hear was a loud noise coming from her mouth in a wave of word vomit. _How can anyone understand what she is saying when she gets like that?_ She wondered, earning a chuckle from Applejack who was sitting next to her.

"Don't worry, ya get used to it. She basically wants to have a Halloween party." The blonde explained earning a confused look.

"Um…Okay, I never really celebrated human holidays so how exactly do you Celebrate Halloween? Isn't that just a holiday for like little kids to get candy? I mean sprayed silly string all over Vice Principal Luna's driveway last year but that was about it." Sunset admitted, earning a gasp from the pink haired girl.

"What? They didn't have Halloween in your world?"

Sunset winced at that before sighing "uh no. I mean we had nightmare night but that was mostly a kid's holiday where kids would dress up and get candy. But I doubt you guys leave half of your candy at statues in town in order to ward off evil spirits."

She almost facepalmed when everyone gave her weird looks, so she quickly explained

"That's the story they tell little kids anyway, they actually gather up all the candy and donate it to the children hospitals."

Pinkie's eyes grew wide than before exclaiming "That's the perfect idea Sunset!"

The redhead in question was confused by this "uh…What is Pinkie?"

"Why we can spend Halloween handing out candy to the kids in the hospital in town! We can all dress up and go around to each of the rooms!"

This earned a nod from the others.

"That's a great idea! I have a great vampire costume that I can wear!"

"Ooh is it the one I made you last year for the haunted house?" Rarity questioned, earning a smirk.

"Hey, you made me look totally awesome! Of course, it is!"

"Oh by the way Sunset, Do you have any ideas for your costume? I bet I can make you one that will make you look as scary or fabulous as you want!"

Sunset bit her lip; unsure as to if she even wanted to try to participate in this holiday.

"Uh…No, I haven't even thought about it. I don't usually celebrate anything. I mean, I didn't exactly have any friends and well, I never exactly had a family to force me into anything either." She admitted, earning a look from Pinkie Pie that clearly said she was planning something.

"Well you have a family now; I mean you mentioned having a guardian now." Rainbow began, earning a groan from Sunset who leaned back onto the table she was sitting on.

"Don't remind me. I still haven't got my phone back, Like I know I screwed up but I haven't played Turbo Overdrive since last week! My record is gonna be ruined!"

Everyone shared a chuckle at the other girl's comment.

"You know, it's kinda strange seeing you act like a normal person. I mean, you were so busy being a bossy asshole that no one really got to know who you really are." Rainbow Dash stated before adding sheepishly "No offense. But you were pretty nasty."

Sunset let out a sigh at that and shrugged "none taken. I know I was."

"Anyway, let's leave most of the planning to Pinkie. Right now let's see how good you are at Dusk and Dawn! I need someone who's good at games to be my partner on an online battle!"

"Oh, you are so on! I call the mage!"

Sunset didn't know what she was expecting when she got home that evening, but seeing a yellow and red macaw flying around the room with Luna's cap in its talons wasn't it. "Uh…What is going on?" She asked, biting back a laugh as Luna chased the bird around the room.

"Luna agreed to help me get some stuff together but Philomena got out of her cage and…well you see how well those two are getting along." Celestia answered, not even trying to keep from laughing at her sister's plight.

"Give that back you damned bird! I swear when I get my hands on you I'm going to turn you into barbeque!"

Sunset let out a laugh then, earning a dirty look from the blue-haired woman "yeah laugh and see if I will help you if she ever steals something of yours!" Luna said, eyes narrowing slightly however whatever effect she wanted it to have failed when the large bird dropped her cap and landed on her hair.

"Celestia, get this damn thing off me before she decides to crap on me again!"

"Again?" Sunset couldn't help but repeat, earning a look.

"Don't you start Miss. Shimmer, I'd rather forget about that thank you!" Luna stated as Celestia removed the bird from her person.

"Sorry but you have to admit it is pretty funny."

Celestia risked a glance at the bickering pair, smiling slightly to herself as she watched the interaction. Sunset seemed to have been in a better mood than she had been earlier that day, although one part of her had to wonder what it had been that had upset the teen so badly.

"Can I trust you two not to kill each other while I go upstairs?" Celestia questioned, chuckling as both of them practically glared at her.

"And now I have two of you I have to deal with."


	58. Chapter 58

Celestia wasn't sure what had woke her up, though she knew that the clock read three thirty. Slowly getting out of bed she headed toward the stairs and saw the kitchen light on. Keeping quiet as she came downstairs she was surprised to find Sunset rummaging through the cabinets.

"Sunset? What are you doing?" She asked, watching as the girl stiffened up before turning toward her, hands folding behind her as she shifted her gaze.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?"

Celestia was too tired to deal with this, though she made herself to have patience with the teen.

"I don't think so. Now what was you looking for?" Celestia asked, suppressing a yawn "it's three in the morning."

Sunset wrecked her brain for some excuse, something that she could say that wouldn't land her into even more trouble than she had already been in that month. However nothing came to mind so she forced herself to say the words:

"I couldn't sleep."

It didn't even answer Celestia's question and she hoped that the woman wouldn't push even farther.

"Sunset, you have said you've had difficulty sleeping lately. Do you have nightmares?" Celestia asked, reaching out to brush a strain of sweat soaked hair out of the girl's face only to feel her lean into the touch.

"Yeah, I mean I know I should be able to go back to sleep…I know it's just my mind but…" Sunset began as she pulled away not wanting to appear needy or clingy.

"Why don't I fix us some tea? Perhaps that will help you calm down."

Sunset barely manage a nod as she stumbled her way toward the table, taking a seat.

Celestia chuckled when she found Sunset flipping through a cookbook that had been sitting on the table.

"Find something you want to try?" she asked, earning a blush from the former pony who just shrugged

"I needed to preoccupy my mind somehow."

A heavy silence fell over them, however suddenly Sunset spoke up, her voice wavering slightly as she said "Um…Celestia? Can I ask you something?"

Celestia was surprised by the lack of formality in her tone, though she didn't point it out "you just did, didn't you?"

This earned a small smile from the younger female who glanced down at her tea before asking

"Can I invite the girls over here for a sleepover sometime? I mean…We have the room and I swear I'll clean everything up and I'm sure that the others won't say anything and I already told Trixie…" Sunset began, earning a chuckle.

"Stop before you worry yourself sick. Its fine Sunset, I never said you couldn't have people over." Celestia answered with a soft smile before adding "I expect you to have visitors and phone calls. This is your **home** not a _prison_."

Home, that was a word that Sunset still wasn't use to thinking in terms of. She still wasn't sure how to be human, let alone how to interact on a personal level with anyone let alone the woman who had became her appointed guardian.

"Thanks, the girls were thinking about having a Halloween thing but…I am nervous about that. I mean, people think that I'm some kind of demon anyway and I'm afraid to know what people would do if they caught me out." Sunset confessed after a few minutes of just getting lost in thought.

"Have you told them that? I am sure they would understand." Celestia stated, watching as the yellow-skinned girl hung her head.

"I'm afraid they won't want to invite me to anything anymore if I say anything. They are only my friends because of Twilight Sparkle anyway!"

The principal sighed as she reached over and gently squeezed the teen's hand.

"Just tell them the truth. I will say this, if they get mad over something like this then they aren't worth being friends with in the first place."


	59. Chapter 59

Celestia knew that something was wrong when Sunset didn't come downstairs before afternoon, however when she went upstairs she wasn't expecting to find the girl lying curled on her side beneath the covers, expression twisted in pain even though she was asleep.

"Sunset Shimmer?" She called, gently shaking the girl, earning a grumbled response that she couldn't understand before the teen opened her eyes.

"Ugh, what is it?" she whined as she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"I was worried about you, you usually are out of bed before now even with sleep deprivation." Celestia answered, earning a confused look from the teen who glanced over at the alarm clock on the table before groaning.

"It's that late? Dang….I didn't mean to sleep in this late!"

Celestia chuckled at the internal freak-out that the teen was having however when the girl stood up the light-hearted atmosphere changed as Sunset stood, stumbling forward as if she had been tripped.

" Sunset? Are you okay?"

Celestia asked, grabbing hold of the teen who glanced up sheepishly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My head's just a bit fuzzy this morning."

Celestia's eyes narrowed as she helped the teen back onto the bed.

"And do you have any idea why you would be so off balance?" she asked, watching as the redhead hung her head so that she didn't meet the older woman's gaze.

"No."

She lied, though she could feel the look intensify.

"Sunset, I need to know the truth."

Her voice was measured, though dripping with disappointment at the teen's attempt at a lie.

"Okay, fine. I have been taking something to help me sleep and I may have taken two pills last night besides one." Sunset confessed, bracing herself for whatever lecture that Celestia came up with.

"What medicine? Where is the bottle Sunset?"

The woman said instead of anything Sunset was expecting.

"in the top drawer in the dresser." Sunset answered, not looking up as she heard the woman rummage around, only looking up when she heard the woman speak again.

"Okay, now I know I need to lock all medicine up from you. Now, right now I want you to come downstairs with me, you can sleep on the couch after I get some food in you and I hope it helps your body deal with the medicine."

 _Why didn't she just tell me that she is having trouble sleeping? Why is she risk her health like this when she didn't understand the consequences of what she was doing?_ Celestia wondered as she led the shamefaced girl out of the room and down the stairs.

"Sunset, you're lucky that two tablets are only fifty milligrams and that is the full adult dose. You're basically just drunk because your body isn't used to that high of a dose. We will talk about this later after you're not groggy."

Celestia said as she helped the girl sit down on the couch before disappearing into the kitchen, returning with a plate of eggs of toast.

"I'm not hungry." Sunset stated, earning a look that reminded her of her old mentor though besides a stern retort the only thing that Celestia did was push the plate into her hands.

"Either eat or you can listen to my rant now."

Celestia almost chuckled when the teen began to eat almost instantly after she had said that.

 _I don't want to hurt the poor girl any more than she has already been hurt but this is ridiculous, she could have killed herself without even realizing that was what she was doing!_ She thought as she took a seat beside the teen, who glanced up at her wearily.

"I guess I can forget about getting my phone back for the rest of the week, can't I?"

Celestia sighed, knowing that this was a delicate situation.

"We'll see after you eat and get over the side effects," Celestia answered, her tone firm but not unfriendly as she reached over and ran a hand through the messy, tangled mass of hair.

"What were you thinking? You had me worried."

Sunset blushed and glanced down "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry anyone. But that was the only thing I could figure out how to make myself sleep without having nightmares." She answered timidly

"Sunset, when you have a hard time sleeping you can always come to get me. " the principal reminded her lightly, careful to keep her tone level and not accusing "I know you are used to doing things on your own _but_ you don't have to face every single problem alone."

"I'm no foal! I should be able to handle a bunch of stupid nightmares." Sunset retorted, earning a sigh as she set the now empty plate onto the coffee table in front of them "I don't need someone to hold my hand every second of every day."

Celestia just sighed, shaking her head at the girl as she debated what to say.

"Sunset, no one is saying that you can't handle it on your own. I am just saying that if it gets too much you don't have to. You have people that care about you."

Sunset bit her lip as she glanced down at the floor, trying to keep the turbulent emotions that she felt from leaking into her response.

"Yeah, but for how long?"

The question came out a whisper, though Celestia could hear the slight waver in the tone.

"What do you mean sunset?"

She prompted softly, earning a sigh.

"I always manage to push people away. I had friends when I was really young, three to be exact but I managed to screw that up somehow! Just like how I screwed up with my aunt and uncle and then the Princess!" Sunset confessed, eyes flashing dangerously as she looked up, though the woman could see the slight tremble in her lip.

"Sunset, you were handed a bad card as a child. I understand that but you need to understand that not everyone will turn their backs at the first sign of trouble." Celestia said before adding "what brought all of this on anyway?"

Sunset sighed and closed her eyes, the images from the previous night's nightmare played through her mind.

"No one cares about a demon."

"Do you think we ever were really your friends?"

"I keep having this dream where everyone just leaves me floating in this black void…Then that… _thing_ starts taunting me. Sometimes the dream changes into something worse…other's I wake up before it happens." Sunset admitted, glancing down before adding "and what people said online isn't helping."

"What did they say Sunset?"

The redhead's shoulders slumped as soon as she heard that question.

"They overheard my friends and I talking earlier evidently…and they said that I was still that…thing. That I must have used mind control to mooch off someone." It was only half the truth but Sunset didn't want to talk about that post, and she just hoped that Luna wouldn't disclose what she found online either.

"Sunset, that isn't true and you know it." Celestia sighed before closing her eyes for a second.

 _I know Sunset was outright nasty to other students there for a while but this is uncalled for. I need to try to stop this before it gets any worse. The only reason I couldn't stop Sunset was that she was as cunning and manipulative as a snake and had a lot of people afraid to tell who was behind what._

Opening her eyes the woman regarded the girl in front of her, taking note of her hunched frame and how she had her head rested in her hands. This wasn't the same girl who had tried to rule the school, no whatever persona she had adopted during her reign of terror was gone now, replaced by a broken, confused, young woman who had no idea where to go from there.

"Sunset, can you tell me what you would do if you could use magic now?" Celestia asked, suddenly having an idea as to how to approach this topic.

"I-I don't know. I mean, it would be nice to levitate stuff again so I didn't have to walk across the room to get a book when I'm studying." She answered, earning a chuckle.

"So you'd just get lazy?" she teased, earning a hint of a smile.

"I guess so."

"See, you're not a monster, you're Just a regular girl who has struggled to find her place."

Sunset grew quiet as she thought about this, wondering if Principal Celestia could be right.

"How can you be sure?" She questioned after a few minutes only to feel a hand rest along the scars on her back.

"Monsters don't worry about being a monster nor do they regret what they have done."

Sunset thought about this, it was true she did regret what she had done. Especially after the blast had made her feel every ounce of emotion she had locked away after coming to the human world.

"What do you think makes me have those nightmares then? I mean in most of them I turn into that demon and….I end up hurting everyone." Sunset asked, turning her attention toward the woman who's brow scrunched up in thought at that.

"I don't know but I know someone who does. If you think you can trust me not to let you get hurt like you did with Discord."

Celestia knew that this was a big thing to ask, especially after what had happened with Discord however to her surprise Sunset just nodded, her teal eyes boring into Celestia's.

"I do trust you. More than I ever thought I'd trust anyone."


	60. Chapter 60

Sunset didn't know what she was expecting when Celestia had told her she had a friend coming over but the tall woman who was covered in tribal tattoos wasn't it. Something about her unnerved the pony turned human, however, she couldn't put a finger on what that was.

"Sunset, I want you to meet Zecora. She is a healer and unlike Discord, not an idiot." Celestia commented, earning a chuckle from both the teen and this strange newcomer

"For one who is paid to offer his two-cents, I find it odd that he could be so dense."

The way that Zecora spoke confused Sunset, though she figured she could ask Celestia about it later, after all, it wasn't that hard to decipher, especially since she had just said Discord was stupid.

"Dense isn't the word I'd use." Sunset muttered, earning a chuckle

"Yes I assume you would say something much more rude, I, however, do not wish to be so crude."

Sunset could barely understand what Zecora and Celestia were talking about, the former speaking in riddle and the other being as cryptic as possible but it didn't take a genius to figure out that whatever they were saying, it was about her.

 _What if Celestia thinks I still have that demon inside of me? What if she hired this person to..._ Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand taking hers, causing her to look up.

"I'm going to stay right beside you during this but you're going to have to trust us okay? Do you think that you can do that Sunset?" Celestia asked, catching Sunset off-guard.

 _Do I trust her? I mean...Can I? I thought I could trust Princess Celestia but look where that got me._

She wondered however besides responding she tightened her grip around Celestia's hand.

 _No, She wouldn't do that to me...She isn't like that. She won't push me away._

Sunset tried to follow the instructions given to her, however, something about the sound of the strange music that was coming from the radio that Zecora had brought with her made her nervous, though she tried to relax as instructed.

"Now once you feel yourself begin to slip you must allow yourself to make the trip."

* * *

Sunset tried not to panic as she found herself in a dark area, the demon standing before her with its arms crossed.

"So you finally decided to face me? Do you finally realize that I am a part of you yet or are you that dense?" It said, black and teal eyes narrowing as it leered down at her.

"I am nothing like you! I would never hurt anyone!"

Sunset argued, earning a scoff.

"really? What about Fluttershy or even Trixie? Or even farther back? You threw a book at the Princess of all people, not that I blame you for that one...She was a complete bitch to you." The demon spoke, causing Sunset to grow quiet.

 _Is it really a part of me? What the hell is going on? Is this telling me that I really am evil?_

"Haven't you realized it yet Sunset Shimmer? The Element of magic drew me out because I am every lonely night and every bitter thought that you ever had."

Sunset wanted to speak but found that she couldn't figure out what to say as she watched the bat-like beast land in front of her, its form shifting until it had taken the form of a golden Unicorn filly with a flame-like mane.

"What did you feel back then? Do you remember? Do you remember how you would watch Cadence and Celestia joke around only to have her turn her back on you whenever you tried to so much as to make her laugh? Do you remember the nights you would wake up from the nightmares those stories of Discord and Sombra and couldn't even get someone to come sit with you? You were only a filly of seven years old! You shouldn't have been told the horrors of that nature at that age!"

 _I do...I remember. I was always so lonely back then...I didn't have a family to turn to except Sunburst but he was busy with his own studies and I didn't want to bother him. My aunt and uncle rarely returned my letters and never visited me at the palace. I just wanted somepony to care about me, about what I was going through. I wanted somepony to care about me, not as a student but as a pony._

Sunset closed her eyes as she fought back the tears.

"I remember. I was always alone then...I felt I had nowhere I could turn to when things got hard." She confessed, earning a chuckle.

"Yet you trust this world's Celestia? Why? Aren't you afraid that she will abandon you just like the Princess of the Sun did?"

Sunset heard the demon, or rather a younger version of herself demand, causing her to open her eyes.

"I'm terrified that she will! But she's different and even you should see that!"

The figure turned once more into the demon, though this time it seemed to be lost in thought.

"Why didn't she ever hold us like that? Why did she say we were a mistake? We just wanted to make her proud of us." it finally asked, surprising Sunset by the waver in its tone.

"I don't know...I wonder that too." the redhead confessed, "I thought that if I could prove myself she would love me the same way that she loved Cadence."

* * *

Celestia glanced at Zecora with wide eyes as she watched as silent streams of tears began to slide down the teen's cheeks. "Is that normal?" she asked softly, afraid to break the trance if she was even louder.

"yes, for the feelings that she must become alert there is always there a bit of hurt."

sometimes Celestia wished that Zecora would just speak normal English.

"She will be okay when she comes out of this, won't she?"

this earned a nod from the shaman who's only response was

"She has you so that is true."

* * *

"Do you think that Principal Celestia really cares about us or is it just because we are her student?"

The demon had asked minutes before, though Sunset had yet to answer. _Did Celestia care about her as a person or as a student?_ She wondered.

"The princess saw me as her student...And she never once held us, did she? Well...Principal Celestia has...So that means something doesn't it?" she asked, earning a nod before a large, bright light began to fill into the dark space.

"What's going on?" the teen demanded, earning a smirk

"Goodbye Sunset."


	61. Chapter 61

Sunset opened her eyes only to find herself seated in the living room. _Basically that thing was all the negativity that had built up inside of me? So does that mean I am a monster?_ She wondered, glancing over at Celestia who had not moved from the spot on the couch beside her.

"What the hell was that? I am so confused." The teen complained, earning a chuckle from Zecora who handed her a glass of water.

"Yes searching one's inner feelings can be confusing however you knew what you were getting into when you were choosing."

Sunset sighed and accepted the water, gingerly pulling her hand from Celestia's grip before speaking again.

"Yes, I did but it doesn't make it any easier. I mean that thing was born from my negative emotions. Does that mean that I am a monster?" she asked in a low voice, earning a sympathetic look from Zecora.

"No, it doesn't. That is why I brought Zecora here." Celestia replied gently, however, Zecora cut her off.

"You would only know where to start after examining what is inside your heart."

Sunset groaned then, much to Celestia's amusement.

"Sorry Zecora but your riddles give me a headache. Can you put that into English please?"

"She means you have to face your emotions besides holding them inside." Celestia explained gently

"What she says is correct, though you will find her answer much more direct." Zecora chuckled as Sunset let out another groan.

"Okay so basically you made me face my emotions? But what the hell did this trance have to do with it? I mean, couldn't I have done it some other way?"

Celestia sighed as she turned her full attention to the girl.

"First off watch your language, secondly would you have ever thought on how you felt about everything that has happened up until this point?" she stated, earning a sigh from Sunset who slumped into her seat.

"I guess not. It's just so confusing. I mean some of the things she said...I...I just don't want to think about let alone here. I mean, I have so many questions about well everything and I'm not sure who to ask!" Sunset answered, burying her face in her hands.

"Perhaps Celestia is where to start, after all, she can be quiet smart." Zecora stated calmly, hiding a smile behind her own glass as she watched the two interact.

"I don't know if Celestia is the best one to ask some of these things." Sunset confessed, risking a glance up at her teacher, half expecting a disapproving look.

"Then you can speak with Luna or one of your friends?" Celestia suggested.

"Maybe I will."

 _Does she care about you as a person or as a student? How could I just up and ask her something like that? I mean if I did it would be too weird._ Sunset thought although she wanted to know the answer as much as the demon had.

 _It might be weird for me to ask such a question but maybe I can convince someone else to ask for me...I wonder if I could convince Luna too? I mean, she knows Celestia better than anyone! But how could I ask her to help me out on something like this? Maybe I could just ask? Or...Maybe I could test her?_

Sunset winced at that thought, though she knew that would probably be the best option for her because if this Celestia wasn't like the Mare that ruled Equestria, this would prove it.


	62. Chapter 62

Sunset sighed as she glanced over at where Celestia had left her phone on the bedside table, having given it back after Zecora had left that evening. _Do I really want to do something that might make her hate me like Princess Celestia did?_

Sighing she glanced over at the journal she had brought from Equestria, thinking back to her early years. _Princess Celestia never did see me for me, just as raw magical talent...She never was concerned for the pony that was Sunset Shimmer. What makes this world's Celestia any different than the Alicorn in my world?_ She wondered, putting an arm over her eyes to try to keep them from stinging so much.

 _I wish there was an off chance that she loved me...I mean...I know it's weird to say it but if this is what having a family is like...I don't want to be alone again. But with how it is now, after graduation I'll be on my own, just like I have always been._

She couldn't hold back a sniffle at that thought. She had always wondered what it felt like to be like the other colts and fillies and now that she had an idea what that felt like, she didn't know how she would cope when she suddenly didn't have that again,

 _Maybe I should just talk to her about it? I mean, she's been open with me up until now._ She wondered but quickly ditched the thought. _No, that didn't work the last time either. All that got me told the last time was that 'it wasn't right if I thought of someone as something they weren't.'But Principal Celestia isn't like that...Or doesn't seem to be. But what if all of this is just some pity act? Or what if I'm just reading too much into everything like a fool?_

"I'm going out." Sunset said as she came down the stairs, not even giving Celestia time to respond before slipping outside. _I need to clear my head and if she's like the princess then I know for a fact if I stay out late enough she'll get angry._ Sunset thought as she headed down the sidewalk, not knowing exactly where she was going. She just knew that she needed time to think and form a plan.

She was amazed by how calm everything was at this hour, only a few stray vehicles going past every now and then which she assumed was people going home from a day at work. However then, out of one of the alley's she heard what sounded like laughter.

 _Crap. What if I just literally walked up on something shady?_ She wondered as she froze in her tracks however the only thing that added to the laughter was the smell of spray-paint.

"Grubber, you just sprayed that all over my shirt!"

The familiar voice caused Sunset to perk up. _Wait, I know that voice! What the heck is she doing on this side of town?_ She wondered, finally letting her curiosity get the best of her.

"Need me to get the higher part for you? I mean, you still complain of pain sometimes." an unknown male voice said and Sunset could hear the snort coming from the girl.

"No! I swear to all that is holy if you ask me that again I will hit you."

"Sorry, excuse me for being a concerned friend!"

 _what on earth could they be doing?_ She wondered, edging closer only to have a coughing fit as the fumes from the paint seemed to blow right toward her.

"What the? Oh, it's you again Red. You have a bad habit popping up in weird places, don't you? What are you doing out at this hour? Get in a fight with your Mommy?"

If Sunset had been able to find something, she would have thrown it at the other girl.

"No! I can do what I want!"

Tempest chuckled, coming out from the shadows.

"yeah sorry, I didn't get that. I don't speak bullshit. If that was true you wouldn't have acted like a kicked puppy when the woman with cotton-candy hair pulled up the other day."

Sunset felt all the blood rush into her face as soon as she had heard that. _Did I really act like that?_

"I did not!"

Tempest let out a laugh at that and shook her head.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night. Anyway, since you're out here you might as wells help us. You're taller than Grubber so you should be able to reach the middle of the wall easily."


End file.
